Murine anti-ny-eso-1 t cell receptors

ABSTRACT

The invention provides an isolated or purified T cell receptor (TCR) having antigenic specificity for NY-ESO-1. Also provided are related polypeptides, proteins, nucleic acids, recombinant expression vectors, isolated host cells, populations of cells, antibodies, or antigen binding portions thereof, and pharmaceutical compositions. The invention further provides a method of detecting the presence of cancer in a mammal and a method of treating or preventing cancer in a mammal using the inventive TCRs or related materials.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/650,020, filed May 22, 2012, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY

Incorporated by reference in its entirety herein is a computer-readable nucleotide/amino acid sequence listing submitted concurrently herewith and identified as follows: one 23,462 Byte ASCII (Text) file named “713415ST25.TXT,” dated Apr. 30, 2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Adoptive cell therapy can be an effective treatment for cancer in some patients. However, obstacles to the overall success of adoptive cell therapy still exist. For example, only 50% of melanoma tumor samples may generate tumor reactive T-cells. Generating tumor-reactive T-cells from non-melanoma cancers can also be difficult. Moreover, many patients may not have a tumor that is amenable to surgical resection. Accordingly, there is a need for T-cell receptors for use in treating patients with cancer.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides an isolated or purified T-cell receptor (TCR) having antigenic specificity for NY-ESO-1 and comprising a murine variable region. The invention also provides related polypeptides and proteins, as well as related nucleic acids, recombinant expression vectors, host cells, and populations of cells. Further provided by the invention are antibodies, or an antigen binding portion thereof, and pharmaceutical compositions relating to the TCRs of the invention.

Methods of detecting the presence of cancer in a mammal and methods of treating or preventing cancer in a mammal are further provided by the invention. The inventive method of detecting the presence of cancer in a mammal comprises (i) contacting a sample comprising cells of the cancer with any of the inventive TCRs, polypeptides, proteins, nucleic acids, recombinant expression vectors, host cells, populations of host cells, or antibodies, or antigen binding portions thereof, described herein, thereby forming a complex, and (ii) detecting the complex, wherein detection of the complex is indicative of the presence of cancer in the mammal.

The inventive method of treating or preventing cancer in a mammal comprises administering to the mammal any of the TCRs, polypeptides, or proteins described herein, any nucleic acid or recombinant expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding any of the TCRs, polypeptides, proteins described herein, or any host cell or population of host cells comprising a recombinant vector which encodes any of the TCRs, polypeptides, or proteins described herein, in an amount effective to treat or prevent cancer in the mammal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIGS. 1A and 1B are graphs showing interferon (IFN)-γ secretion by human CD8+ (FIG. 1A) or CD4+ (FIG. 1B) T cells transfected with a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (shaded circles) or a human anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (unshaded circles) upon co-culture with dendritic cells pulsed with various concentrations of NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are graphs showing IFN-γ secretion by human CD8+ (FIG. 2A) or CD4+ (FIG. 2B) T cells transfected with a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (shaded bars) or a human anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (unshaded bars) cultured alone (media) or co-cultured with T2 cells pulsed with control peptide, T2 cells pulsed with NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide, or one of various tumor cell lines 888mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), Sk23mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), COA-A2-CEA (NY-ESO-1⁻), A375mel (NY-ESO-1⁺), 1363mel (NY-ESO-1⁺), or COS-A2-ESO (NY-ESO-1⁺).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides an isolated or purified T-cell receptor (TCR) having antigenic specificity for NY-ESO-1 and comprising a murine variable region. NY-ESO-1 is a cancer testis antigen (CTA), which is expressed only in tumor cells and non-MHC expressing germ cells of the testis and placenta. NY-ESO-1 is expressed in a variety of human cancers including, but not limited to, melanoma, breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, ovarian cancer, and synovial cell sarcoma. The NY-ESO-1 protein may comprise, consist, or consist essentially of, SEQ ID NO: 1.

The TCR may have antigenic specificity for any NY-ESO-1 protein, polypeptide or peptide. In an embodiment of the invention, the TCR has antigenic specificity for a NY-ESO-1 protein comprising, consisting of, or consisting essentially of, SEQ ID NO: 1. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the TCR has antigenic specificity for a NY-ESO-1 157-165 peptide comprising, consisting of, or consisting essentially of, SLLMWITQC (SEQ ID NO: 2).

The phrase “having antigenic specificity” as used herein means that the TCR can specifically bind to and immunologically recognize NY-ESO-1, such that binding of the TCR to NY-ESO-1 elicits an immune response.

In an embodiment of the invention, the inventive TCRs are able to recognize NY-ESO-1 in a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-dependent manner. By “MHC class I-dependent manner” as used herein means that the TCR elicits an immune response upon binding to NY-ESO-1 within the context of an MHC class I molecule. The MHC class I molecule can be any MHC class I molecule known in the art, e.g., HLA-A molecules. In an embodiment of the invention, the MHC class I molecule is an HLA-A2 molecule.

In an embodiment of the invention, the inventive TCRs comprise a murine variable region. The inventive TCRs may further comprise a constant region derived from any suitable species such as, e.g., human or mouse. Preferably, the inventive TCRs further comprise a murine constant region. In an especially preferred embodiment, the inventive TCRs are murine TCRs comprising both a murine variable region and a murine constant region.

As used herein, the term “murine,” when referring to a TCR or any component of a TCR described herein (e.g., complementarity determining region (CDR), variable region, constant region, alpha chain, and/or beta chain), means a TCR (or component thereof) which is derived from a mouse, i.e., a TCR (or component thereof) that originated from or was, at one time, expressed by a mouse T cell. Desirably, the TCR (or component thereof) is expressed on the surface of a human host cell.

The TCRs of the invention provide many advantages, including when used for adoptive cell transfer. For example, without being bound by a particular theory or mechanism, it is believed that because NY-ESO-1 is expressed by cells of multiple cancer types, the inventive TCRs advantageously provide the ability to destroy cells of multiple types of cancer and, accordingly, treat or prevent multiple types of cancer. Additionally, without being bound to a particular theory or mechanism, it is believed that because NY-ESO-1 is a cancer testis antigen that is expressed only in tumor cells and non-MHC expressing germ cells of the testis and placenta, the inventive TCRs advantageously target the destruction of cancer cells while minimizing or eliminating the destruction of normal, non-cancerous cells, thereby reducing, for example, minimizing or eliminating, toxicity. It is also believed that murine TCRs may provide increased expression (e.g., higher numbers of TCRs) on the surface of a human host cell and/or increased functionality (as measured by, e.g., cytokine release and cytotoxicity) as compared to a human TCR. Without being bound to a particular theory of mechanism, it is believed that the improved expression and/or functionality results from a reduction in the mixing of endogenous and exogenous (transduced) TCR chains in the host cell. Accordingly, it is believed that murine TCRs can replace endogenous TCRs on the surface of a human host cell more effectively than an exogenous human TCR. It is also believed that murine TCRs provide improved pairing of TCR chains and/or improved interactions with the CD3 complex of the human host cell as compared to exogenous human TCRs expressed by a human host cell.

An embodiment of the invention provides a TCR comprising two polypeptides (i.e., polypeptide chains), such as an α chain of a TCR, a β chain of a TCR, a γ chain of a TCR, a δ chain of a TCR, or a combination thereof. The polypeptides of the inventive TCR can comprise any amino acid sequence, provided that the TCR has antigenic specificity for NY-ESO-1 and comprises a murine variable region.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the TCR comprises two polypeptide chains, each of which comprises a variable region comprising a complementarity determining region (CDR) 1, a CDR2, and a CDR3 of a TCR. Preferably, the first polypeptide chain comprises a CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 (CDR1 of α chain), a CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 (CDR2 of α chain), and a CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5 (CDR3 of α chain), and the second polypeptide chain comprises a CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6 (CDR1 of β chain), a CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 (CDR2 of β chain), and a CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8 (CDR3 of β chain). In this regard, the inventive TCR can comprise the amino acid sequences selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 3-5, 6-8, and 3-8. Preferably the TCR comprises the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 3-8.

Alternatively or additionally, the TCR can comprise an amino acid sequence of a variable region of a TCR comprising the CDRs set forth above. In this regard, the TCR can comprise the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 (the variable region of an α chain) or 10 (the variable region of a β chain), or both SEQ ID NOs: 9 and 10. Preferably, the inventive TCR comprises the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 9 and 10.

Alternatively or additionally, the TCR can comprise an α chain of a TCR and a β chain of a TCR. Each of the α chain and β chain of the inventive TCR can independently comprise any amino acid sequence. Preferably, the α chain comprises the variable region of an α chain as set forth above. In this regard, the inventive TCR can comprise the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11. An inventive TCR of this type can be paired with any β chain of a TCR. Preferably, the β chain of the inventive TCR comprises the variable region of a β chain as set forth above. In this regard, the inventive TCR can comprise the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12. The inventive TCR, therefore, can comprise the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11 or 12, or both SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12. Preferably, the inventive TCR comprises the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12.

Also provided by the invention is an isolated or purified polypeptide comprising a functional portion of any of the TCRs described herein. The term “polypeptide” as used herein includes oligopeptides and refers to a single chain of amino acids connected by one or more peptide bonds.

With respect to the inventive polypeptides, the functional portion can be any portion comprising contiguous amino acids of the TCR of which it is a part, provided that the functional portion specifically binds to NY-ESO-1. The term “functional portion” when used in reference to a TCR refers to any part or fragment of the TCR of the invention, which part or fragment retains the biological activity of the TCR of which it is a part (the parent TCR). Functional portions encompass, for example, those parts of a TCR that retain the ability to specifically bind to NY-ESO-1, or detect, treat, or prevent cancer, to a similar extent, the same extent, or to a higher extent, as the parent TCR. In reference to the parent TCR, the functional portion can comprise, for instance, about 10%, 25%, 30%, 50%, 68%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or more, of the parent TCR.

The functional portion can comprise additional amino acids at the amino or carboxy terminus of the portion, or at both termini, which additional amino acids are not found in the amino acid sequence of the parent TCR. Desirably, the additional amino acids do not interfere with the biological function of the functional portion, e.g., specifically binding to NY-ESO-1, having the ability to detect cancer, treat or prevent cancer, etc. More desirably, the additional amino acids enhance the biological activity, as compared to the biological activity of the parent TCR.

The polypeptide can comprise a functional portion of either or both of the α and β chains of the TCRs of the invention, such as a functional portion comprising one or more of CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 of the variable region(s) of the α chain and/or β chain of a TCR of the invention. In this regard, the polypeptide can comprise a functional portion comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 (CDR1 of α chain), 4 (CDR2 of α chain), 5 (CDR3 of α chain), 6 (CDR1 of β chain), 7 (CDR2 of β chain), 8 (CDR3 of β chain), or a combination thereof. Preferably, the inventive polypeptide comprises a functional portion comprising SEQ ID NOs: 3-5, 6-8, or all of SEQ ID NOs: 3-8. More preferably, the polypeptide comprises a functional portion comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 3-8.

Alternatively or additionally, the inventive polypeptide can comprise, for instance, the variable region of the inventive TCR comprising a combination of the CDR regions set forth above. In this regard, the TCR can comprise the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 (the variable region of an α chain) or 10 (the variable region of a β chain), or both SEQ ID NOs: 9 and 10. Preferably, the polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 9 and 10.

Alternatively or additionally, the inventive polypeptide can comprise the entire length of an α or β chain of one of the TCRs described herein. In this regard, the inventive polypeptide can comprise an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11 or 12. Alternatively, the polypeptide of the invention can comprise both chains of the TCRs described herein. For example, the inventive polypeptide can comprise both amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12.

The invention further provides an isolated or purified protein comprising at least one of the polypeptides described herein. By “protein” is meant a molecule comprising one or more polypeptide chains.

The protein of the invention can comprise a first polypeptide chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 and a second polypeptide chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. The protein of the invention can, for example, comprise a first polypeptide chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11 and a second polypeptide chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12. In this instance, the protein of the invention can be a TCR. Alternatively, if, for example, the protein comprises a single polypeptide chain comprising SEQ ID NO: 11 and SEQ ID NO: 12, or if the first and/or second polypeptide chain(s) of the protein further comprise(s) other amino acid sequences, e.g., an amino acid sequence encoding an immunoglobulin or a portion thereof, then the inventive protein can be a fusion protein. In this regard, the invention also provides a fusion protein comprising at least one of the inventive polypeptides described herein along with at least one other polypeptide. The other polypeptide can exist as a separate polypeptide of the fusion protein, or can exist as a polypeptide, which is expressed in frame (in tandem) with one of the inventive polypeptides described herein. The other polypeptide can encode any peptidic or proteinaceous molecule, or a portion thereof, including, but not limited to an immunoglobulin, CD3, CD4, CD8, an MHC molecule, a CD1 molecule, e.g., CD1a, CD1b, CD1c, CD1d, etc.

The fusion protein can comprise one or more copies of the inventive polypeptide and/or one or more copies of the other polypeptide. For instance, the fusion protein can comprise 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or more, copies of the inventive polypeptide and/or of the other polypeptide. Suitable methods of making fusion proteins are known in the art, and include, for example, recombinant methods. See, for instance, Choi et al., Mol. Biotechnol. 31: 193-202 (2005).

In some embodiments of the invention, the TCRs, polypeptides, and proteins of the invention (including functional portions and functional variants) may be expressed as a single protein comprising a linker peptide linking the α chain and the β chain. Any linker peptide suitable for linking the α chain and the β chain may be used in the TCRs, polypeptides, and proteins (including functional portions and functional variants) of the invention. In an embodiment of the invention, the linker peptide is a picornavirus 2A peptide. In this regard, the TCRs, polypeptides, and proteins of the invention (including functional portions and functional variants) may further comprise a linker peptide comprising an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 13. The linker peptide may advantageously facilitate the expression of a recombinant TCR, polypeptide, and/or protein in a host cell. Upon expression of the construct including the linker peptide by a host cell, the linker peptide may be cleaved, resulting in separated a and β chains.

The protein of the invention can be a recombinant antibody comprising at least one of the inventive polypeptides described herein. As used herein, “recombinant antibody” refers to a recombinant (e.g., genetically engineered) protein comprising at least one of the polypeptides of the invention and a polypeptide chain of an antibody, or a portion thereof. The polypeptide of an antibody, or portion thereof, can be a heavy chain, a light chain, a variable or constant region of a heavy or light chain, a single chain variable fragment (scFv), or an Fc, Fab, or F(ab)₂′ fragment of an antibody, etc. The polypeptide chain of an antibody, or portion thereof, can exist as a separate polypeptide of the recombinant antibody. Alternatively, the polypeptide chain of an antibody, or portion thereof, can exist as a polypeptide, which is expressed in frame (in tandem) with the polypeptide of the invention. The polypeptide of an antibody, or portion thereof, can be a polypeptide of any antibody or any antibody fragment, including any of the antibodies and antibody fragments described herein.

Included in the scope of the invention are functional variants of the inventive TCRs, polypeptides, and proteins described herein. The term “functional variant” as used herein refers to a TCR, polypeptide, or protein having substantial or significant sequence identity or similarity to a parent TCR, polypeptide, or protein, which functional variant retains the biological activity of the TCR, polypeptide, or protein of which it is a variant. Functional variants encompass, for example, those variants of the TCR, polypeptide, or protein described herein (the parent TCR, polypeptide, or protein) that retain the ability to specifically bind to NY-ESO-1 to a similar extent, the same extent, or to a higher extent, as the parent TCR, polypeptide, or protein. In reference to the parent TCR, polypeptide, or protein, the functional variant can, for instance, be at least about 30%, 50%, 75%, 80%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or more identical in amino acid sequence to the parent TCR, polypeptide, or protein.

The functional variant can, for example, comprise the amino acid sequence of the parent TCR, polypeptide, or protein with at least one conservative amino acid substitution. Conservative amino acid substitutions are known in the art, and include amino acid substitutions in which one amino acid having certain physical and/or chemical properties is exchanged for another amino acid that has the same chemical or physical properties. For instance, the conservative amino acid substitution can be an acidic amino acid substituted for another acidic amino acid (e.g., Asp or Glu), an amino acid with a nonpolar side chain substituted for another amino acid with a nonpolar side chain (e.g., Ala, Gly, Val, Ile, Leu, Met, Phe, Pro, Trp, Val, etc.), a basic amino acid substituted for another basic amino acid (Lys, Arg, etc.), an amino acid with a polar side chain substituted for another amino acid with a polar side chain (Asn, Cys, Gln, Ser, Thr, Tyr, etc.), etc.

Alternatively or additionally, the functional variants can comprise the amino acid sequence of the parent TCR, polypeptide, or protein with at least one non-conservative amino acid substitution. In this case, it is preferable for the non-conservative amino acid substitution to not interfere with or inhibit the biological activity of the functional variant. Preferably, the non-conservative amino acid substitution enhances the biological activity of the functional variant, such that the biological activity of the functional variant is increased as compared to the parent TCR, polypeptide, or protein.

The TCR, polypeptide, or protein can consist essentially of the specified amino acid sequence or sequences described herein, such that other components of the functional variant, e.g., other amino acids, do not materially change the biological activity of the functional variant. In this regard, the inventive TCR, polypeptide, or protein can, for example, consist essentially of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11 or 12, or both SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12. Also, for instance, the inventive TCRs, polypeptides, or proteins can consist essentially of the amino acid sequence(s) of SEQ ID NO: 9 or 10, or both SEQ ID NOs: 9 and 10. Furthermore, the inventive TCRs, polypeptides, or proteins can consist essentially of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 (CDR1 of α chain), 4 (CDR2 of α chain), 5 (CDR3 of α chain), 6 (CDR1 of β chain), 7 (CDR2 of β chain), 8 (CDR3 of β chain), or any combination thereof, e.g., SEQ ID NOs: 3-5, 6-8, or 3-8.

The TCRs, polypeptides, and proteins of the invention (including functional portions and functional variants) can be of any length, i.e., can comprise any number of amino acids, provided that the TCRs, polypeptides, or proteins (or functional portions or functional variants thereof) retain their biological activity, e.g., the ability to specifically bind to NY-ESO-1, detect cancer in a mammal, or treat or prevent cancer in a mammal, etc. For example, the polypeptide can be 50 to 5000 amino acids long, such as 50, 70, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000 or more amino acids in length. In this regard, the polypeptides of the invention also include oligopeptides.

The TCRs, polypeptides, and proteins of the invention (including functional portions and functional variants) of the invention can comprise synthetic amino acids in place of one or more naturally-occurring amino acids. Such synthetic amino acids are known in the art, and include, for example, aminocyclohexane carboxylic acid, norleucine, α-amino n-decanoic acid, homoserine, S-acetylaminomethyl-cysteine, trans-3- and trans-4-hydroxyproline, 4-aminophenylalanine, 4-nitrophenylalanine, 4-chlorophenylalanine, 4-carboxyphenylalanine, β-phenylserine β-hydroxyphenylalanine, phenylglycine, α-naphthylalanine, cyclohexylalanine, cyclohexylglycine, indoline-2-carboxylic acid, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid, aminomalonic acid, aminomalonic acid monoamide, N′-benzyl-N′-methyl-lysine, N′,N′-dibenzyl-lysine, 6-hydroxylysine, ornithine, α-aminocyclopentane carboxylic acid, α-aminocyclohexane carboxylic acid, α-aminocycloheptane carboxylic acid, α-(2-amino-2-norbornane)-carboxylic acid, α,γ-diaminobutyric acid, α,β-diaminopropionic acid, homophenylalanine, and α-tert-butylglycine.

The TCRs, polypeptides, and proteins of the invention (including functional portions and functional variants) can be glycosylated, amidated, carboxylated, phosphorylated, esterified, N-acylated, cyclized via, e.g., a disulfide bridge, or converted into an acid addition salt and/or optionally dimerized or polymerized, or conjugated.

When the TCRs, polypeptides, and proteins of the invention (including functional portions and functional variants) are in the form of a salt, preferably, the polypeptides are in the form of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt. Suitable pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts include those derived from mineral acids, such as hydrochloric, hydrobromic, phosphoric, metaphosphoric, nitric, and sulphuric acids, and organic acids, such as tartaric, acetic, citric, malic, lactic, fumaric, benzoic, glycolic, gluconic, succinic, and arylsulphonic acids, for example, p-toluenesulphonic acid.

The TCR, polypeptide, and/or protein of the invention (including functional portions and functional variants thereof) can be obtained by methods known in the art. Suitable methods of de novo synthesizing polypeptides and proteins are described in references, such as Chan et al., Fmoc Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis, Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom, 2005; Peptide and Protein Drug Analysis, ed. Reid, R., Marcel Dekker, Inc., 2000; Epitope Mapping, ed. Westwood et al., Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom, 2000; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,752. Also, polypeptides and proteins can be recombinantly produced using the nucleic acids described herein using standard recombinant methods. See, for instance, Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 3^(rd) ed., Cold Spring Harbor Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 2001; and Ausubel et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Greene Publishing Associates and John Wiley & Sons, NY, 1994. Further, some of the TCRs, polypeptides, and proteins of the invention (including functional portions and functional variants thereof) can be isolated and/or purified from a source, such as a plant, a bacterium, an insect, a mammal, e.g., a mouse, a human, etc. Methods of isolation and purification are well-known in the art. Alternatively, the TCRs, polypeptides, and/or proteins described herein (including functional portions and functional variants thereof) can be commercially synthesized by companies, such as Synpep (Dublin, Calif.), Peptide Technologies Corp. (Gaithersburg, Md.), and Multiple Peptide Systems (San Diego, Calif.). In this respect, the inventive TCRs, polypeptides, and proteins can be synthetic, recombinant, isolated, and/or purified.

Included in the scope of the invention are conjugates, e.g., bioconjugates, comprising any of the inventive TCRs, polypeptides, or proteins (including any of the functional portions or variants thereof), nucleic acids, recombinant expression vectors, host cells, populations of host cells, or antibodies, or antigen binding portions thereof. Conjugates, as well as methods of synthesizing conjugates in general, are known in the art (See, for instance, Hudecz, F., Methods Mol. Biol. 298: 209-223 (2005) and Kirin et al., Inorg Chem. 44(15): 5405-5415 (2005)).

Further provided by the invention is a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding any of the TCRs, polypeptides, or proteins described herein (including functional portions and functional variants thereof).

By “nucleic acid” as used herein includes “polynucleotide,” “oligonucleotide,” and “nucleic acid molecule,” and generally means a polymer of DNA or RNA, which can be single-stranded or double-stranded, synthesized or obtained (e.g., isolated and/or purified) from natural sources, which can contain natural, non-natural or altered nucleotides, and which can contain a natural, non-natural or altered internucleotide linkage, such as a phosphoroamidate linkage or a phosphorothioate linkage, instead of the phosphodiester found between the nucleotides of an unmodified oligonucleotide. It is generally preferred that the nucleic acid does not comprise any insertions, deletions, inversions, and/or substitutions. However, it may be suitable in some instances, as discussed herein, for the nucleic acid to comprise one or more insertions, deletions, inversions, and/or substitutions.

Preferably, the nucleic acids of the invention are recombinant. As used herein, the term “recombinant” refers to (i) molecules that are constructed outside living cells by joining natural or synthetic nucleic acid segments to nucleic acid molecules that can replicate in a living cell, or (ii) molecules that result from the replication of those described in (i) above. For purposes herein, the replication can be in vitro replication or in vivo replication.

The nucleic acids can be constructed based on chemical synthesis and/or enzymatic ligation reactions using procedures known in the art. See, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, and Ausubel et al., supra. For example, a nucleic acid can be chemically synthesized using naturally occurring nucleotides or variously modified nucleotides designed to increase the biological stability of the molecules or to increase the physical stability of the duplex formed upon hybridization (e.g., phosphorothioate derivatives and acridine substituted nucleotides). Examples of modified nucleotides that can be used to generate the nucleic acids include, but are not limited to, 5-fluorouracil, 5-bromouracil, 5-chlorouracil, 5-iodouracil, hypoxanthine, xanthine, 4-acetylcytosine, 5-(carboxyhydroxymethyl)uracil, 5-carboxymethylaminomethyl-2-thiouridine, 5-carboxymethylaminomethyluracil, dihydrouracil, beta-D-galactosylqueosine, inosine, N⁶-isopentenyladenine, 1-methylguanine, 1-methylinosine, 2,2-dimethylguanine, 2-methyladenine, 2-methylguanine, 3-methylcytosine, 5-methylcytosine, N⁶-substituted adenine, 7-methylguanine, 5-methylaminomethyluracil, 5-methoxyaminomethyl-2-thiouracil, beta-D-mannosylqueosine, 5′-methoxycarboxymethyluracil, 5-methoxyuracil, 2-methylthio-N⁶-isopentenyladenine, uracil-5-oxyacetic acid (v), wybutoxosine, pseudouracil, queosine, 2-thiocytosine, 5-methyl-2-thiouracil, 2-thiouracil, 4-thiouracil, 5-methyluracil, uracil-5-oxyacetic acid methylester, 3-(3-amino-3-N-2-carboxypropyl)uracil, and 2,6-diaminopurine. Alternatively, one or more of the nucleic acids of the invention can be purchased from companies, such as Macromolecular Resources (Fort Collins, Colo.) and Synthegen (Houston, Tex.).

The nucleic acid can comprise any nucleotide sequence which encodes any of the inventive TCRs, polypeptides, or proteins, or functional portions or functional variants thereof. For example, the nucleic acid can comprise a nucleotide sequence comprising, consisting of, or consisting essentially of SEQ ID NO: 19 (wild-type α chain) or SEQ ID NO: 20 (wild-type β chain) or both SEQ ID NOs: 19 and 20.

In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence may be codon-optimized. Without being bound to a particular theory or mechanism, it is believed that codon optimization of the nucleotide sequence increases the translation efficiency of the mRNA transcripts. Codon optimization of the nucleotide sequence may involve substituting a native codon for another codon that encodes the same amino acid, but can be translated by tRNA that is more readily available within a cell, thus increasing translation efficiency. Optimization of the nucleotide sequence may also reduce secondary mRNA structures that would interfere with translation, thus increasing translation efficiency. In an embodiment of the invention, the codon-optimized nucleotide sequence may comprise, consist, or consist essentially of SEQ ID NO: 15 (codon-optimized α chain), SEQ ID NO: 16 (codon-optimized β chain), SEQ ID NO: 21 (codon-optimized variable region of α chain), SEQ ID NO: 22 (codon-optimized variable region of β chain), both SEQ ID NOs: 15 and 16, both SEQ ID NOs: 21 and 22, both SEQ ID NOs: 15 and 20, or both SEQ ID NOs: 16 and 19.

In an embodiment of the invention, the nucleotide sequence encoding the TCRs, polypeptides, and proteins of the invention (including functional portions and functional variants thereof) may further comprise a nucleotide sequence encoding any of the linker peptides described herein with respect to other aspects of the invention. In an embodiment of the invention, the linker peptide may be encoded by a nucleotide sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 14.

The invention also provides a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence that is at least about 70% or more, e.g., about 80%, about 90%, about 91%, about 92%, about 93%, about 94%, about 95%, about 96%, about 97%, about 98%, or about 99% identical to any of the nucleic acids described herein.

The nucleotide sequence alternatively can comprise a nucleotide sequence which is degenerate to SEQ ID NO: 15, SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 19, SEQ ID NO: 20, SEQ ID NO: 21, SEQ ID NO: 22, both SEQ ID NOs: 15 and 16, both SEQ ID NOs: 19 and 20, both SEQ ID NOs: 21 and 22, both SEQ ID NOs: 15 and 20, or both SEQ ID NOs: 16 and 19. Preferably, the nucleic acid comprises a nucleotide sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, or 22, SEQ ID NOs: 15 and 16, SEQ ID NOs: 19 and 20, SEQ ID NOs: 21 and 22, SEQ ID NOs: 15 and 20, or SEQ ID NOs: 16 and 19, or a nucleotide sequence which is degenerate thereto.

The invention also provides an isolated or purified nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence which is complementary to the nucleotide sequence of any of the nucleic acids described herein or a nucleotide sequence which hybridizes under stringent conditions to the nucleotide sequence of any of the nucleic acids described herein.

The nucleotide sequence which hybridizes under stringent conditions preferably hybridizes under high stringency conditions. By “high stringency conditions” is meant that the nucleotide sequence specifically hybridizes to a target sequence (the nucleotide sequence of any of the nucleic acids described herein) in an amount that is detectably stronger than non-specific hybridization. High stringency conditions include conditions which would distinguish a polynucleotide with an exact complementary sequence, or one containing only a few scattered mismatches from a random sequence that happened to have a few small regions (e.g., 3-10 bases) that matched the nucleotide sequence. Such small regions of complementarity are more easily melted than a full-length complement of 14-17 or more bases, and high stringency hybridization makes them easily distinguishable. Relatively high stringency conditions would include, for example, low salt and/or high temperature conditions, such as provided by about 0.02-0.1 M NaCl or the equivalent, at temperatures of about 50-70° C. Such high stringency conditions tolerate little, if any, mismatch between the nucleotide sequence and the template or target strand, and are particularly suitable for detecting expression of any of the inventive TCRs. It is generally appreciated that conditions can be rendered more stringent by the addition of increasing amounts of formamide.

The nucleic acids of the invention can be incorporated into a recombinant expression vector. In this regard, the invention provides recombinant expression vectors comprising any of the nucleic acids of the invention. For purposes herein, the term “recombinant expression vector” means a genetically-modified oligonucleotide or polynucleotide construct that permits the expression of an mRNA, protein, polypeptide, or peptide by a host cell, when the construct comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding the mRNA, protein, polypeptide, or peptide, and the vector is contacted with the cell under conditions sufficient to have the mRNA, protein, polypeptide, or peptide expressed within the cell. The vectors of the invention are not naturally-occurring as a whole. However, parts of the vectors can be naturally-occurring. The inventive recombinant expression vectors can comprise any type of nucleotides, including, but not limited to DNA and RNA, which can be single-stranded or double-stranded, synthesized or obtained in part from natural sources, and which can contain natural, non-natural or altered nucleotides. The recombinant expression vectors can comprise naturally-occurring, non-naturally-occurring internucleotide linkages, or both types of linkages. Preferably, the non-naturally occurring or altered nucleotides or internucleotide linkages do not hinder the transcription or replication of the vector.

The recombinant expression vector of the invention can be any suitable recombinant expression vector, and can be used to transform or transfect any suitable host cell. Suitable vectors include those designed for propagation and expansion or for expression or both, such as plasmids and viruses. The vector can be selected from the group consisting of the pUC series (Fermentas Life Sciences), the pBluescript series (Stratagene, LaJolla, Calif.), the pET series (Novagen, Madison, Wis.), the pGEX series (Pharmacia Biotech, Uppsala, Sweden), and the pEX series (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.). Bacteriophage vectors, such as λGT10, λGT11, λZapII (Stratagene), λEMBL4, and λNM1149, also can be used. Examples of plant expression vectors include pBI01, pBI101.2, pBI101.3, pBI121 and pBIN19 (Clontech). Examples of animal expression vectors include pEUK-Cl, pMAM and pMAMneo (Clontech). Preferably, the recombinant expression vector is a viral vector, e.g., a retroviral vector or a lentiviral vector.

The recombinant expression vectors of the invention can be prepared using standard recombinant DNA techniques described in, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, and Ausubel et al., supra. Constructs of expression vectors, which are circular or linear, can be prepared to contain a replication system functional in a prokaryotic or eukaryotic host cell. Replication systems can be derived, e.g., from ColEl, 2μ plasmid, λ, SV40, bovine papilloma virus, and the like.

Desirably, the recombinant expression vector comprises regulatory sequences, such as transcription and translation initiation and termination codons, which are specific to the type of host cell (e.g., bacterium, fungus, plant, or animal) into which the vector is to be introduced, as appropriate and taking into consideration whether the vector is DNA- or RNA-based.

The recombinant expression vector can include one or more marker genes, which allow for selection of transformed or transfected host cells. Marker genes include biocide resistance, e.g., resistance to antibiotics, heavy metals, etc., complementation in an auxotrophic host to provide prototrophy, and the like. Suitable marker genes for the inventive expression vectors include, for instance, neomycin/G418 resistance genes, hygromycin resistance genes, histidinol resistance genes, tetracycline resistance genes, and ampicillin resistance genes.

The recombinant expression vector can comprise a native or nonnative promoter operably linked to the nucleotide sequence encoding the TCR, polypeptide, or protein (including functional portions and functional variants thereof), or to the nucleotide sequence which is complementary to or which hybridizes to the nucleotide sequence encoding the TCR, polypeptide, or protein. The selection of promoters, e.g., strong, weak, inducible, tissue-specific and developmental-specific, is within the ordinary skill of the artisan. Similarly, the combining of a nucleotide sequence with a promoter is also within the skill of the artisan. The promoter can be a non-viral promoter or a viral promoter, e.g., a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter, an SV40 promoter, an RSV promoter, and a promoter found in the long-terminal repeat of the murine stem cell virus.

The inventive recombinant expression vectors can be designed for either transient expression, for stable expression, or for both. Also, the recombinant expression vectors can be made for constitutive expression or for inducible expression. Further, the recombinant expression vectors can be made to include a suicide gene.

As used herein, the term “suicide gene” refers to a gene that causes the cell expressing the suicide gene to die. The suicide gene can be a gene that confers sensitivity to an agent, e.g., a drug, upon the cell in which the gene is expressed, and causes the cell to die when the cell is contacted with or exposed to the agent. Suicide genes are known in the art (see, for example, Suicide Gene Therapy: Methods and Reviews, Springer, Caroline J. (Cancer Research UK Centre for Cancer Therapeutics at the Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, Surrey, UK), Humana Press, 2004) and include, for example, the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) thymidine kinase (TK) gene, cytosine daminase, purine nucleoside phosphorylase, and nitroreductase.

The inventive recombinant expression vectors may comprise a nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the alpha chain positioned 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the beta chain. In this regard, an embodiment of the invention provides a recombinant expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a CDR 1α, CDR2α, CDR3α, CDR1β, CDR2β, and CDR3β, and the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1α, CDR2α, and CDR3α is 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1β, CDR2β, and CDR3β. Likewise, the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1β, CDR2β, and CDR3β may be 3′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1α, CDR2α, and CDR3α. In another embodiment of the invention, the recombinant expression vector comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding a variable region of the alpha chain and a variable region of the beta chain, and the nucleotide sequence encoding the variable region of the alpha chain is 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the variable region of the beta chain. Likewise, the nucleotide sequence encoding the variable region of the beta chain may be 3′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the variable region of the alpha chain. In still another embodiment of the invention, the recombinant expression vector comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding an alpha chain and a beta chain, and the nucleotide sequence encoding the alpha chain is 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the beta chain. Likewise, the nucleotide sequence encoding the beta chain may be 3′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the alpha chain. The recombinant expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the alpha chain positioned 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the beta chain may comprise SEQ ID NO: 17.

The inventive recombinant expression vectors may comprise a nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the alpha chain positioned 3′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the beta chain. Without being bound by a particular theory or mechanism, it is believed that a TCR, polypeptide, or protein (or functional portion or variant thereof) encoded by a recombinant expression vector in which the nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the alpha chain is positioned 3′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the beta chain provides improved functionality and antigen recognition as compared to a TCR, polypeptide, or protein (or functional portion or functional variant thereof) encoded by a recombinant expression vector in which the nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the alpha chain is positioned 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the beta chain. In this regard, an embodiment of the invention provides a recombinant expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a CDR 1α, CDR2α, CDR3α, CDR1β, CDR2β, and CDR3β, and the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1α, CDR2α, and CDR3α is 3′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1β, CDR2β, and CDR3β. Likewise, the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1β, CDR2β, and CDR3β may be 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1α, CDR2α, and CDR3α. In another embodiment of the invention, the recombinant expression vector comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding a variable region of the alpha chain and a variable region of the beta chain, and the nucleotide sequence encoding the variable region of the alpha chain is 3′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the variable region of the beta chain. Likewise, the nucleotide sequence encoding the variable region of the beta chain may be 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the variable region of the alpha chain. In still another embodiment of the invention, the recombinant expression vector comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding an alpha chain and a beta chain, and the nucleotide sequence encoding the alpha chain is 3′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the beta chain. Likewise, the nucleotide sequence encoding the beta chain may be 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the alpha chain. The recombinant expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the alpha chain positioned 3′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding all or a portion of the beta chain may comprise SEQ ID NO: 18.

In an embodiment of the invention, the recombinant expression vector may comprise a DNA tag. The DNA tag may distinguish the recombinant expression vector from another vector encoding the same protein sequence. The DNA tag may not be included within the nucleotide sequence encoding the inventive TCR (including functional portions and functional variants thereof), polypeptide, or protein and, therefore, may not affect its expression. Recombinant expression vectors including the DNA tag make it possible to put the same nucleotide sequence into several different cell populations and subsequently distinguish between those populations based on which vector they contain.

The invention further provides a host cell comprising any of the recombinant expression vectors described herein. As used herein, the term “host cell” refers to any type of cell that can contain the inventive recombinant expression vector. The host cell can be a eukaryotic cell, e.g., plant, animal, fungi, or algae, or can be a prokaryotic cell, e.g., bacteria or protozoa. The host cell can be a cultured cell or a primary cell, i.e., isolated directly from an organism, e.g., a human. The host cell can be an adherent cell or a suspended cell, i.e., a cell that grows in suspension. Suitable host cells are known in the art and include, for instance, DH5α E. coli cells, Chinese hamster ovarian cells, monkey VERO cells, COS cells, HEK293 cells, and the like. For purposes of amplifying or replicating the recombinant expression vector, the host cell is preferably a prokaryotic cell, e.g., a DH5α cell. For purposes of producing a recombinant TCR, polypeptide, or protein, the host cell is preferably a mammalian cell. Most preferably, the host cell is a human cell. While the host cell can be of any cell type, can originate from any type of tissue, and can be of any developmental stage, the host cell may be a peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) or a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC). Preferably, the host cell may be a T cell.

For purposes herein, the T cell can be any T cell, such as a cultured T cell, e.g., a primary T cell, or a T cell from a cultured T cell line, e.g., Jurkat, SupT1, etc., or a T cell obtained from a mammal. If obtained from a mammal, the T cell can be obtained from numerous sources, including but not limited to blood, bone marrow, lymph node, the thymus, or other tissues or fluids. T cells can also be enriched for or purified. The T cell may be a human T cell. The T cell may be a T cell isolated from a human. The T cell can be any type of T cell and can be of any developmental stage, including but not limited to, CD4⁺/CD8⁺ double positive T cells, CD4⁺ helper T cells, e.g., Th₁ and Th₂ cells, CD8⁺ T cells, cytotoxic T cells, tumor infiltrating lymphocyte cells, memory T cells, naive T cells, and the like. Preferably, the T cell may be a CD8⁺ T cell or a CD4⁺ T cell.

Also provided by the invention is a population of cells comprising at least one host cell described herein. The population of cells can be a heterogeneous population comprising the host cell comprising any of the recombinant expression vectors described, in addition to at least one other cell, e.g., a host cell (e.g., a T cell), which does not comprise any of the recombinant expression vectors, or a cell other than a T cell, e.g., a B cell, a macrophage, a neutrophil, an erythrocyte, a hepatocyte, an endothelial cell, an epithelial cells, a muscle cell, a brain cell, etc. Alternatively, the population of cells can be a substantially homogeneous population, in which the population comprises mainly of host cells (e.g., consisting essentially of) comprising the recombinant expression vector. The population also can be a clonal population of cells, in which all cells of the population are clones of a single host cell comprising a recombinant expression vector, such that all cells of the population comprise the recombinant expression vector. In one embodiment of the invention, the population of cells is a clonal population comprising host cells comprising a recombinant expression vector as described herein.

The invention further provides an antibody, or antigen binding portion thereof, which specifically binds to a functional portion of any of the TCRs described herein. Preferably, the functional portion specifically binds to NY-ESO-1, e.g., the functional portion comprising the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 3 (CDR1 of α chain), 4 (CDR2 of α chain), 5 (CDR3 of α chain), 6 (CDR1 of β chain), 7 (CDR2 of β chain), 8 (CDR3 of β chain), SEQ ID NO: 9, SEQ ID NO: 10, or a combination thereof, e.g., 3-5, 6-8, 3-8, or 9-10. More preferably, the functional portion comprises the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 3-8. In a preferred embodiment, the antibody, or antigen binding portion thereof, binds to an epitope which is formed by all 6 CDRs (CDR1-3 of the alpha chain and CDR1-3 of the beta chain). The antibody can be any type of immunoglobulin that is known in the art. For instance, the antibody can be of any isotype, e.g., IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, IgM, etc. The antibody can be monoclonal or polyclonal. The antibody can be a naturally-occurring antibody, e.g., an antibody isolated and/or purified from a mammal, e.g., mouse, rabbit, goat, horse, chicken, hamster, human, etc. Alternatively, the antibody can be a genetically-engineered antibody, e.g., a humanized antibody or a chimeric antibody. The antibody can be in monomeric or polymeric form. Also, the antibody can have any level of affinity or avidity for the functional portion of the inventive TCR. Desirably, the antibody is specific for the functional portion of the inventive TCR, such that there is minimal cross-reaction with other peptides or proteins.

Methods of testing antibodies for the ability to bind to any functional portion of the inventive TCR are known in the art and include any antibody-antigen binding assay, such as, for example, radioimmunoassay (RIA), ELISA, Western blot, immunoprecipitation, and competitive inhibition assays (see, e.g., Janeway et al., infra).

Suitable methods of making antibodies are known in the art. For instance, standard hybridoma methods are described in, e.g., Köhler and Milstein, Eur. J. Immunol., 5, 511-519 (1976), Harlow and Lane (eds.), Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, CSH Press (1988), and C. A. Janeway et al. (eds.), Immunobiology, 5^(th) Ed., Garland Publishing, New York, N.Y. (2001)). Alternatively, other methods, such as EBV-hybridoma methods (Haskard and Archer, J. Immunol. Methods, 74(2), 361-67 (1984), and Roder et al., Methods Enzymol., 121, 140-67 (1986)), and bacteriophage vector expression systems (see, e.g., Huse et al., Science, 246, 1275-81 (1989)) are known in the art. Further, methods of producing antibodies in non-human animals are described in, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,545,806, 5,569,825, and 5,714,352).

Phage display furthermore can be used to generate the antibody of the invention. In this regard, phage libraries encoding antigen-binding variable (V) domains of antibodies can be generated using standard molecular biology and recombinant DNA techniques (see, e.g., Sambrook et al. (eds.), Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, 3^(rd) Edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York (2001)). Phage encoding a variable region with the desired specificity are selected for specific binding to the desired antigen, and a complete or partial antibody is reconstituted comprising the selected variable domain. Nucleic acid sequences encoding the reconstituted antibody are introduced into a suitable cell line, such as a myeloma cell used for hybridoma production, such that antibodies having the characteristics of monoclonal antibodies are secreted by the cell (see, e.g., Janeway et al., supra, Huse et al., supra, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,150).

Antibodies can be produced by transgenic mice that are transgenic for specific heavy and light chain immunoglobulin genes. Such methods are known in the art and described in, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,545,806 and 5,569,825, and Janeway et al., supra.

Methods for generating humanized antibodies are well known in the art and are described in detail in, for example, Janeway et al., supra, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,225,539, 5,585,089 and 5,693,761, European Patent No. 0239400 B1, and United Kingdom Patent No. 2188638. Humanized antibodies can also be generated using the antibody resurfacing technology described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,641 and Pedersen et al., J. Mol. Biol., 235, 959-973 (1994).

The invention also provides antigen binding portions of any of the antibodies described herein. The antigen binding portion can be any portion that has at least one antigen binding site, such as Fab, F(ab′)₂, dsFv, sFv, diabodies, and triabodies.

A single-chain variable region fragment (sFv) antibody fragment, which consists of a truncated Fab fragment comprising the variable (V) domain of an antibody heavy chain linked to a V domain of a light antibody chain via a synthetic peptide, can be generated using routine recombinant DNA technology techniques (see, e.g., Janeway et al., supra). Similarly, disulfide-stabilized variable region fragments (dsFv) can be prepared by recombinant DNA technology (see, e.g., Reiter et al., Protein Engineering, 7, 697-704 (1994)). Antibody fragments of the invention, however, are not limited to these exemplary types of antibody fragments.

Also, the antibody, or antigen binding portion thereof, can be modified to comprise a detectable label, such as, for instance, a radioisotope, a fluorophore (e.g., fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), phycoerythrin (PE)), an enzyme (e.g., alkaline phosphatase, horseradish peroxidase), and element particles (e.g., gold particles).

The inventive TCRs, polypeptides, proteins, (including functional portions and functional variants thereof), nucleic acids, recombinant expression vectors, host cells (including populations thereof), and antibodies (including antigen binding portions thereof), can be isolated and/or purified. The term “isolated” as used herein means having been removed from its natural environment. The term “purified” as used herein means having been increased in purity, wherein “purity” is a relative term, and not to be necessarily construed as absolute purity. For example, the purity can be at least about 50%, can be greater than 60%, 70% or 80%, or can be 100%.

The inventive TCRs, polypeptides, proteins (including functional portions and variants thereof), nucleic acids, recombinant expression vectors, host cells (including populations thereof), and antibodies (including antigen binding portions thereof), all of which are collectively referred to as “inventive TCR materials” hereinafter, can be formulated into a composition, such as a pharmaceutical composition. In this regard, the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising any of the TCRs, polypeptides, proteins, functional portions, functional variants, nucleic acids, expression vectors, host cells (including populations thereof), and antibodies (including antigen binding portions thereof), and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The inventive pharmaceutical compositions containing any of the inventive TCR materials can comprise more than one inventive TCR material, e.g., a polypeptide and a nucleic acid, or two or more different TCRs. Alternatively, the pharmaceutical composition can comprise an inventive TCR material in combination with another pharmaceutically active agents or drugs, such as a chemotherapeutic agents, e.g., asparaginase, busulfan, carboplatin, cisplatin, daunorubicin, doxorubicin, fluorouracil, gemcitabine, hydroxyurea, methotrexate, paclitaxel, rituximab, vinblastine, vincristine, etc.

Preferably, the carrier is a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. With respect to pharmaceutical compositions, the carrier can be any of those conventionally used and is limited only by chemico-physical considerations, such as solubility and lack of reactivity with the active compound(s), and by the route of administration. The pharmaceutically acceptable carriers described herein, for example, vehicles, adjuvants, excipients, and diluents, are well-known to those skilled in the art and are readily available to the public. It is preferred that the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier be one which is chemically inert to the active agent(s) and one which has no detrimental side effects or toxicity under the conditions of use.

The choice of carrier will be determined in part by the particular inventive TCR material, as well as by the particular method used to administer the inventive TCR material. Accordingly, there are a variety of suitable formulations of the pharmaceutical composition of the invention. The following formulations for parenteral, subcutaneous, intravenous, intramuscular, intraarterial, intrathecal, and interperitoneal administration are exemplary and are in no way limiting. More than one route can be used to administer the inventive TCR materials, and in certain instances, a particular route can provide a more immediate and more effective response than another route.

Formulations suitable for parenteral administration include aqueous and non-aqueous, isotonic sterile injection solutions, which can contain anti-oxidants, buffers, bacteriostats, and solutes that render the formulation isotonic with the blood of the intended recipient, and aqueous and non-aqueous sterile suspensions that can include suspending agents, solubilizers, thickening agents, stabilizers, and preservatives. The inventive TCR material can be administered in a physiologically acceptable diluent in a pharmaceutical carrier, such as a sterile liquid or mixture of liquids, including water, saline, aqueous dextrose and related sugar solutions, an alcohol, such as ethanol or hexadecyl alcohol, a glycol, such as propylene glycol or polyethylene glycol, dimethylsulfoxide, glycerol, ketals such as 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-4-methanol, ethers, poly(ethyleneglycol) 400, oils, fatty acids, fatty acid esters or glycerides, or acetylated fatty acid glycerides with or without the addition of a pharmaceutically acceptable surfactant, such as a soap or a detergent, suspending agent, such as pectin, carbomers, methylcellulose, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, or carboxymethylcellulose, or emulsifying agents and other pharmaceutical adjuvants.

Oils, which can be used in parenteral formulations include petroleum, animal, vegetable, or synthetic oils. Specific examples of oils include peanut, soybean, sesame, cottonseed, corn, olive, petrolatum, and mineral. Suitable fatty acids for use in parenteral formulations include oleic acid, stearic acid, and isostearic acid. Ethyl oleate and isopropyl myristate are examples of suitable fatty acid esters.

Suitable soaps for use in parenteral formulations include fatty alkali metal, ammonium, and triethanolamine salts, and suitable detergents include (a) cationic detergents such as, for example, dimethyl dialkyl ammonium halides, and alkyl pyridinium halides, (b) anionic detergents such as, for example, alkyl, aryl, and olefin sulfonates, alkyl, olefin, ether, and monoglyceride sulfates, and sulfosuccinates, (c) nonionic detergents such as, for example, fatty amine oxides, fatty acid alkanolamides, and polyoxyethylenepolypropylene copolymers, (d) amphoteric detergents such as, for example, alkyl-β-aminopropionates, and 2-alkyl-imidazoline quaternary ammonium salts, and (e) mixtures thereof.

The parenteral formulations will typically contain from about 0.5% to about 25% by weight of the inventive TCR material in solution. Preservatives and buffers may be used. In order to minimize or eliminate irritation at the site of injection, such compositions may contain one or more nonionic surfactants having a hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) of from about 12 to about 17. The quantity of surfactant in such formulations will typically range from about 5% to about 15% by weight. Suitable surfactants include polyethylene glycol sorbitan fatty acid esters, such as sorbitan monooleate and the high molecular weight adducts of ethylene oxide with a hydrophobic base, formed by the condensation of propylene oxide with propylene glycol. The parenteral formulations can be presented in unit-dose or multi-dose sealed containers, such as ampoules and vials, and can be stored in a freeze-dried (lyophilized) condition requiring only the addition of the sterile liquid excipient, for example, water, for injections, immediately prior to use. Extemporaneous injection solutions and suspensions can be prepared from sterile powders, granules, and tablets of the kind previously described.

Injectable formulations are in accordance with the invention. The requirements for effective pharmaceutical carriers for injectable compositions are well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art (see, e.g., Pharmaceutics and Pharmacy Practice, J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, Pa., Banker and Chalmers, eds., pages 238-250 (1982), and ASHP Handbook on Injectable Drugs, Toissel, 4th ed., pages 622-630 (1986)). Preferably, when administering cells, e.g., dendritic cells, the cells are administered via injection.

It will be appreciated by one of skill in the art that, in addition to the above-described pharmaceutical compositions, the inventive TCR materials of the invention can be formulated as inclusion complexes, such as cyclodextrin inclusion complexes, or liposomes.

For purposes of the invention, the amount or dose of the inventive TCR material administered should be sufficient to effect, e.g., a therapeutic or prophylactic response, in the subject or animal over a reasonable time frame. For example, the dose of the inventive TCR material should be sufficient to bind to NY-ESO-1, or detect, treat or prevent cancer in a period of from about 2 hours or longer, e.g., 12 to 24 or more hours, from the time of administration. In certain embodiments, the time period could be even longer. The dose will be determined by the efficacy of the particular inventive TCR material and the condition of the animal (e.g., human), as well as the body weight of the animal (e.g., human) to be treated.

Many assays for determining an administered dose are known in the art. For purposes of the invention, an assay, which comprises comparing the extent to which target cells are lysed or IFN-γ is secreted by T cells expressing the inventive TCR, polypeptide, or protein upon administration of a given dose of such T cells to a mammal among a set of mammals of which is each given a different dose of the T cells, could be used to determine a starting dose to be administered to a mammal. The extent to which target cells are lysed or IFN-γ is secreted upon administration of a certain dose can be assayed by methods known in the art, including, for instance, the methods described herein as Example 3.

The dose of the inventive TCR material also will be determined by the existence, nature and extent of any adverse side effects that might accompany the administration of a particular inventive TCR material. Typically, the attending physician will decide the dosage of the inventive TCR material with which to treat each individual patient, taking into consideration a variety of factors, such as age, body weight, general health, diet, sex, inventive TCR material to be administered, route of administration, and the severity of the condition being treated. By way of example and not intending to limit the invention, the dose of the inventive TCR material can be about 0.001 to about 1000 mg/kg body weight of the subject being treated/day, from about 0.01 to about 10 mg/kg body weight/day, about 0.01 mg to about 1 mg/kg body weight/day.

One of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the inventive TCR materials of the invention can be modified in any number of ways, such that the therapeutic or prophylactic efficacy of the inventive TCR materials is increased through the modification. For instance, the inventive TCR materials can be conjugated either directly or indirectly through a bridge to a targeting moiety. The practice of conjugating compounds, e.g., inventive TCR materials, to targeting moieties is known in the art. See, for instance, Wadwa et al., J. Drug Targeting 3: 111 (1995) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,616. The term “targeting moiety” as used herein, refers to any molecule or agent that specifically recognizes and binds to a cell-surface receptor, such that the targeting moiety directs the delivery of the inventive TCR materials to a population of cells on which surface the receptor is expressed. Targeting moieties include, but are not limited to, antibodies, or fragments thereof, peptides, hormones, growth factors, cytokines, and any other natural or non-natural ligands, which bind to cell surface receptors (e.g., Epithelial Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), T-cell receptor (TCR), B-cell receptor (BCR), CD28, Platelet-derived Growth Factor Receptor (PDGF), nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), etc.). The term “bridge” as used herein, refers to any agent or molecule that bridges the inventive TCR materials to the targeting moiety. One of ordinary skill in the art recognizes that sites on the inventive TCR materials, which are not necessary for the function of the inventive TCR materials, are ideal sites for attaching a bridge and/or a targeting moiety, provided that the bridge and/or targeting moiety, once attached to the inventive TCR materials, do(es) not interfere with the function of the inventive TCR materials, i.e., the ability to bind to NY-ESO-1, or to detect, treat, or prevent cancer.

Alternatively, the inventive TCR materials can be modified into a depot form, such that the manner in which the inventive TCR materials is released into the body to which it is administered is controlled with respect to time and location within the body (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,150). Depot forms of inventive TCR materials can be, for example, an implantable composition comprising the inventive TCR materials and a porous or non-porous material, such as a polymer, wherein the inventive TCR materials is encapsulated by or diffused throughout the material and/or degradation of the non-porous material. The depot is then implanted into the desired location within the body and the inventive TCR materials are released from the implant at a predetermined rate.

It is contemplated that the inventive pharmaceutical compositions, TCRs (including functional portions or variants thereof), polypeptides, proteins, nucleic acids, recombinant expression vectors, host cells, or populations of cells can be used in methods of treating or preventing cancer. Without being bound to a particular theory or mechanism, the inventive TCRs are believed to bind specifically to NY-ESO-1, such that the TCR (or related inventive polypeptide or protein, or functional portion or variant thereof) when expressed by a cell is able to mediate an immune response against the cell expressing NY-ESO-1. In this regard, the invention provides a method of treating or preventing cancer in a mammal, comprising administering to the mammal any of the TCRs, polypeptides, or proteins described herein, any nucleic acid or recombinant expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding any of the TCRs, polypeptides, proteins described herein, or any host cell or population of cells comprising a recombinant vector which encodes any of the TCRs, polypeptides, or proteins described herein, in an amount effective to treat or prevent cancer in the mammal.

The terms “treat,” and “prevent” as well as words stemming therefrom, as used herein, do not necessarily imply 100% or complete treatment or prevention. Rather, there are varying degrees of treatment or prevention of which one of ordinary skill in the art recognizes as having a potential benefit or therapeutic effect. In this respect, the inventive methods can provide any amount of any level of treatment or prevention of cancer in a mammal. Furthermore, the treatment or prevention provided by the inventive method can include treatment or prevention of one or more conditions or symptoms of the disease, e.g., cancer, being treated or prevented. Also, for purposes herein, “prevention” can encompass delaying the onset of the disease, or a symptom or condition thereof.

Also provided is a method of detecting the presence of cancer in a mammal. The method comprises (i) contacting a sample comprising cells of the cancer any of the inventive TCRs, polypeptides, proteins, nucleic acids, recombinant expression vectors, host cells, populations of cells, or antibodies, or antigen binding portions thereof, described herein, thereby forming a complex, and detecting the complex, wherein detection of the complex is indicative of the presence of cancer in the mammal.

With respect to the inventive method of detecting cancer in a mammal, the sample of cells of the cancer can be a sample comprising whole cells, lysates thereof, or a fraction of the whole cell lysates, e.g., a nuclear or cytoplasmic fraction, a whole protein fraction, or a nucleic acid fraction.

For purposes of the inventive detecting method, contacting can take place in vitro or in vivo with respect to the mammal. Preferably, the contacting is in vitro.

Also, detection of the complex can occur through any number of ways known in the art. For instance, the inventive TCRs, polypeptides, proteins, nucleic acids, recombinant expression vectors, host cells, populations of cells, or antibodies, or antigen binding portions thereof, described herein, can be labeled with a detectable label such as, for instance, a radioisotope, a fluorophore (e.g., fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), phycoerythrin (PE)), an enzyme (e.g., alkaline phosphatase, horseradish peroxidase), and element particles (e.g., gold particles).

For purposes of the inventive methods, wherein host cells or populations of cells are administered, the cells can be cells that are allogeneic or autologous to the mammal. Preferably, the cells are autologous to the mammal.

With respect to the inventive methods, the cancer can be any cancer, including any of acute lymphocytic cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, bone cancer, brain cancer, breast cancer, cancer of the anus, anal canal, or anorectum, cancer of the eye, cancer of the intrahepatic bile duct, cancer of the joints, cancer of the neck, gallbladder, or pleura, cancer of the nose, nasal cavity, or middle ear, cancer of the oral cavity, cancer of the vulva, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myeloid cancer, colon cancer, esophageal cancer, cervical cancer, gastrointestinal carcinoid tumor. Hodgkin lymphoma, hypopharynx cancer, kidney cancer, larynx cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, melanoma, multiple myeloma, nasopharynx cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, peritoneum, omentum, and mesentery cancer, pharynx cancer, prostate cancer, rectal cancer, renal cancer (e.g., renal cell carcinoma (RCC)), small intestine cancer, soft tissue cancer, stomach cancer, synovial cell sarcoma, testicular cancer, thyroid cancer, ureter cancer, and urinary bladder cancer. Preferably, the cancer is melanoma, breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, ovarian cancer, or synovial cell sarcoma.

The mammal referred to in the inventive methods can be any mammal. As used herein, the term “mammal” refers to any mammal, including, but not limited to, mammals of the order Rodentia, such as mice and hamsters, and mammals of the order Logomorpha, such as rabbits. It is preferred that the mammals are from the order Carnivora, including Felines (cats) and Canines (dogs). It is more preferred that the mammals are from the order Artiodactyla, including Bovines (cows) and Swines (pigs) or of the order Perssodactyla, including Equines (horses). It is most preferred that the mammals are of the order Primates, Ceboids, or Simoids (monkeys) or of the order Anthropoids (humans and apes). An especially preferred mammal is the human.

EXAMPLES

The following examples further illustrate the invention but, of course, should not be construed as in any way limiting its scope.

Cell Lines

Melanoma lines 1300mel (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁺), 624.38mel (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁺), A375mel (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁺), 938mel (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁻), 888mel (NY-ESO-1⁻, HLA-A2⁻), SK23mel (NY-ESO-1⁻, HLA-A2⁺), 1359mel (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁻), 1359-A2mel (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁺), 624mel (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁺), and 1390mel (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁺), were generated from resected tumor lesions and were cultured in R10 medium consisting of RPMI 1640 supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, 2 mmol/L L-glutamine, 50 units/mL penicillin, and 50 μg/mL (Invitrogen) and 25 mmol/L HEPES (GIBCO, Invitrogen). Other cell lines used included: the cervical cancer cell line Caski (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁺), (ATCC CRL-1550) the osteosarcoma cell line Saos2 (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁺), (ATCC HTB-85), and the neuroblastoma cell line SK NAS-A2 (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁺), (ATCC CRL-2137), the non-small cell lung cancer cell line H1299A2 (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁺), the breast carcinoma cell line MDA-MB-435S-A2 (NY-ESO-1⁺, HLA-A2⁺), (ATCC® HTB-129), all three of which were transduced with retroviral construct to express HLA-A*0201 (Navuaux et al., J. Virol., 70: 5701-05 (1996), Parkhurst et al., Clin. Cancer Res., 15: 169-180 (2009), Robbins et al., J. Immunol., 180: 6116-31 (2008), Wargo et al., Cancer Immunol. Immunother., 58: 394 (2009)), COS-A2-ESO, which was transduced with a retroviral vector expressing the NY-ESO-1 gene, and COS-A2-CEA, which was transduced with a retroviral vector expressing the CEA gene.

Example 1

This example demonstrates the identification of murine anti-NY-ESO-1 T cell clones.

HLA-A2 transgenic mice were immunized with 100 μg of peptide (NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅) and 120 μg of helper peptide (hepatitis B virus core peptide (HBVc):128-140) in 100 μl Incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) subcutaneously (s.c.) at the base of the tail (50 μg of NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide on each of two sides of the tail), followed by a boost one week later with the same immunization.

Day 0: One week after the second immunization, splenocytes were harvested and stimulated in vitro with one of the following: (i) LPS-activated HLA-A2+ splenocytes (3,000 rads) (“LPS blast”) pulsed with 1 μg/ml priming peptide and 10 μg/ml human β2-microgobulin or (ii) T2 cells (17,000 rads) pulsed with 1, 0.1 or 0.01 μg/ml peptide.

Day 7: Bulk cultures were evaluated for specific reactivity via IFNγ secretion upon co-culture with one of the tumor cell lines set forth in Table 1. The results are shown in Table 1 (IFN-γ (pg/ml) post 1 bulk stimulation; “nt”=not tested). Because cytokine release was sometimes very high in response to T2 cells loaded with the HBV peptide, the underlined values for tumor targets indicate twice the background values obtained with media alone and negative tumors, and the underlined values for peptides indicate twice background values obtained with T2 and HBV peptide.

TABLE 1 RNA LPS T2 + copies per blasts + T2 + 1 0.1 T2 + 0.01 HLA- NY- GAPDH 1 μg/ml μg/ml μg/ml μg/ml A2 ESO-1 (×100) peptide peptide peptide peptide T2 + HBV + − nt 41 266  200  71 T2 + ESO: 157 + + nt 549  4505  4,464   406  media − − nt 22 53 69 41 888mel − − 0.02 36 133  110  88 Sk23mel + − 0.01 24 76 134  17 1359mel − + 5.68 55 92 21 26 1359-A2 + + nt 22 98 73 48 A375mel + + 59.08  41 47 143  49 624mel + + 4.14 41 73 200  22 1390mel + + nt — — — — 1363mel + + nt — — — — COS-A2-CEA + − nt 32 94 67 56 COS-A2-ESO + + nt 33 92 65 61 293-A2-gp100 + − nt — — — — 293-A2-ESO + + nt — — — —

Day 11: Peptide/tumor reactive bulk cultures were cloned at 10 cells/well under the following conditions (10 plates per condition): (i) irradiated T2 cells (18,000 rads) pulsed with 1, 0.1, or 0.01 μg/ml peptide: 5×10⁴ cells/well; (ii) irradiated C57BL/6 splenocyte feeders (3,000 rads): 5×10⁴ cells/well; and (iii) 10 CU/ml IL-2.

Days 25-30: Growth positive wells were selected and restimulated in 48-well plates under the following conditions: (i) irradiated T2 cells (18,000 rads) pulsed with 1, 0.1, or 0.01 μg/ml peptide: 2×10⁵ cells/well; (ii) irradiated C57BL/6 splenocyte feeders (3,000 rads): 1 ×10⁶ cells/well; and (iii) 10 CU/ml IL-2.

Days 37-44: Clones were evaluated for specific reactivity via IFNγ secretion upon co-culture with the tumor cell lines set forth in Table 2. Tumor cells were treated with IFNγ (20 ng/ml) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (3 ng/ml) overnight prior to the assay.

The splenocytes stimulated with LPS-activated HLA-A2+ splenocytes (3,000 rads) pulsed with 1 μg/ml priming peptide and 10 μg/ml human β2-microgobulin on Day 0 produced 8 out of 960 growth positive wells. Data for the two most reactive clones are shown in Table 2 (post 1 bulk stimulation; IFN-γ (pg/ml)).

TABLE 2 NY- HLA-A2 ESO-1 RNA copies per GAPDH (×100) B H T2 + HBV + − nt 393 283 T2 + ESO: 157 + + nt >14,000    >14,000    media − − nt 404 292 888mel − − 0.02 386 288 Sk23mel + − 0.01 — — 1359mel − + 5.68 354 285 1359-A2 + + nt 11,781   16,436   A375mel + + 59.08  383 1,954   624mel + + 4.14 363 14,298   1390mel + + nt 288 17,567   1363mel + + nt 3,582   — COS-A2-CEA + − nt 348 289 COS-A2-ESO + + nt >14,000    >14,000    293-A2- + − nt 373 274 gp100 293-A2-ESO + + nt 335 8,813  

Days 46-49: Clones of interest were restimulated in 24-well plates under the following conditions: (i) irradiated T2 cells (18,000 rads) pulsed with 1, 0.1, or 0.01 μg/ml peptide: 5×10⁵ cells/well; (ii) irradiated C57BL/6 splenocyte feeders (3,000 rads): 1×10⁶ cells/well; and (iii) 10 CU/ml IL-2. Restimulated clones were flash-frozen for RNA preparation.

Example 2

This example demonstrates the identification of murine anti-NY-ESO-1 T cell clones.

HLA-A2 transgenic mice were immunized and the splenocytes were harvested, stimulated, and evaluated for specific reactivity as described in Example 1.

Day 11: The bulk cultures were restimulated in 24-well plates under the following conditions: (i) irradiated T2 cells (18,000 rads) pulsed with 1, 0.1, or 0.01 μg/ml peptide: 4×10⁵ cells/well; (ii) irradiated C57BL/6 splenocyte feeders (3,000 rads): 1×10⁶ cells/well; and (iii) 10 CU/ml IL-2.

Day 19: The bulk cultures (post two stimulations) were evaluated for specific reactivity via IFN-γ secretion upon co-culture with the tumor cell lines set forth in Table 3. Tumor cells were treated with IFNγ (20 ng/ml) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (3 ng/ml) overnight prior to the assay. The results are shown in Table 3 (IFN-γ (pg/ml)).

TABLE 3 RNA Post 2 bulk stims. NY- copies per LPS blasts + T2 + 0.1 T2 + 0.01 HLA- ESO- GAPDH 1 μg/ml T2 + 1 μg/ml μg/ml μg/ml A2 1 (×100) peptide peptide peptide peptide T2 + HBV + − nt 195 2,860   16,156   1,058   T2 + ESO: 157 + + nt 79,524   72,730   47,871   1,899   media − − nt 137 131 156 406 888mel − − 0.02  40 201 112 562 Sk23mel + − 0.01  79 245 562 424 1359mel − + 5.68  73 169 188 357 1359-A2 + + nt 966 320 1,597   258 A375mel + + 59.08  150 176 258 332 624mel + + 4.14 320 144 697 301 1390mel + + nt — — — — 1363mel + + nt — — — — COS-A2- + − nt 226 369 400 308 CEA COS-A2- + + nt 424 351 326 295 ESO 293-A2- + − nt — — — — gp100 293-A2-ESO + + nt — — — —

Day 21: Bulk cultures were restimulated in 24-well plates under the following conditions: (i) irradiated T2 cells (18,000 rads) pulsed with 1, 0.1, or 0.01 μg/ml peptide: 5×10⁵ cells/well; (ii) irradiated C57BL/6 splenocyte feeders (3,000 rads): 1×10⁶ cells/well; and (iii) 10 CU/ml IL-2.

Day 30: The bulk cultures (post three stimulations) were evaluated for specific reactivity via IFN-γ secretion upon co-culture with the tumor cell lines set forth in Table 4. Tumor cells were treated with IFNγ (20 ng/ml) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (3 ng/ml) overnight prior to the assay. The results are shown in Table 4 (IFN-γ (pg/ml); * indicates bulk cultures that were cloned after three bulk stimulations).

TABLE 4 RNA copies * LPS T2 + TE8 per blasts + * T2 + 1 T2 + 0.1 0.01 (human NY- GAPDH 1 μg/ml μg/ml μg/ml μg/ml T cell HLA-A2 ESO-1 (×100) peptide peptide peptide peptide clone) T2 + HBV + − nt 1,794 4,700   28,797  23,897   16 T2 + ESO: + + nt 78,316  63,793   96,164  19,698 16,254  157 media − − nt 1,992 389 8,856 10,711    7 888mel − − 0.02 1,268 188 6,611 7,614   13 Sk23mel + − 0.01   662 202 7,585 6,225   69 1359mel − + 5.68   623  64 5,684 7,026   996 1359-A2 + + nt 27,572  7,774   10,324  7,204 7,936 A375mel + + 59.08  1,263 342 7,232 9,425 4,095 624mel + + 4.14 14,098  3,211   10,061  8,727 3,262 1390mel + + nt   852 179 5,966 6,191 7,123 1363mel + + nt 42,970  15,673   20,398  9,958 12,149  COS- + − nt   981 119 3,995 6,744   18 A2-CEA COS- + + nt 19,523  3,334   9,116 8,187 14,662  A2-ESO 293-A2- + − nt — — — — — gp100 293-A2- + + nt — — — — — ESO

Day 33: Selected peptide/tumor reactive bulk cultures (post three stimulations) were cloned at 10 cells/well as described for Day 11 of Example 1.

Days 45-48: Growth positive wells were screened for peptide reactivity via IFN-γ secretion upon co-culture with the tumor cell lines set forth in Table 5. Tumor cells were treated with IFNγ (20 ng/ml) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (3 ng/ml) overnight prior to the assay.

The splenocytes stimulated with LPS-activated HLA-A2+ splenocytes (3,000 rads) pulsed with 1 μg/ml priming peptide and 10 μg/ml human β2-microgobulin on Day 0 produced 33 out of 960 growth positive wells. Data for the four most reactive clones (Nos. 2, 5, 6, and 8) are shown in Table 5 (post 3 bulk stimulations; IFN-γ (pg/ml)). The splenocytes stimulated with T2 cells (17,000 rads) pulsed with 1 μg/ml peptide produced 104 out of 960 growth positive wells. Data for the four most reactive clones (Nos. 1, 50, 51, and 63) are shown in Table 5.

TABLE 5 RNA NY- copies per HLA-A ESO- GAPDH A2 1 (×100) 2 5 6 T2 + HBV + − nt 235 317 223 T2 + ESO: 157 + + nt >14,000     >14,000     >14,000     media − − nt 221 314 231 888mel − − 0.02 210 316 208 Sk23mel + − 0.01 216 309 210 1359mel − + 5.68 243 383 206 1359-A2 + + nt 1,981   6,027   2,523   A375mel + + 59.08  523 388 232 624mel + + 4.14 7,879   1,931   2,527   1390mel + + nt 1,124   17,567   352 1363mel + + nt — — — COS-A2-CEA + − nt — — — COS-A2-ESO + + nt — — — 293-A2- + − nt — — — gp100 293-A2-ESO + + nt — — — 8 1 50 51 63 T2 + HBV 344 306 335 270 239 T2 + ESO: 157 >14,000     >14,000     >14,000     >14,000     >14,000     media 563 266 232 258 222 888mel 288 234 241 244 208 Sk23mel 297 278 208 222 207 1359mel 422 347 271 212 229 1359-A2 1,845   1,477   3,661   1,965   2,272   A375mel 1,455   556 557 556 737 624mel 8,595   4,629   4,487   2,978   7,139   1390mel 900 517 379 914 716 1363mel — — — — — COS-A2-CEA — — — — — COS-A2-ESO — — — — — 293-A2- — — — — — gp100 293-A2-ESO — — — — —

Days 46-49: Peptide reactive clones were restimulated in 24-well plates as described for Day 21 of this example. Restimulated clones were flash-frozen for RNA preparation.

Example 3

This example demonstrates the isolation of a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR and the specific reactivity of the isolated TCR against NY-ESO-1.

The TCR from five clones, (namely, clones B, H, 5, 6, 1, 50, and 63) were isolated. The nucleotide sequence (RNA) encoding the TCR of each clone was isolated, sequenced, and transfected into human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from Patients 1 and 2. The transfected cells were stimulated with OKT3 and IL-2 and cultured alone (media) or co-cultured with T2 cells pulsed with control (HBV) peptide, T2 cells pulsed with NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide, COA-A2-CEA (NY-ESO-1⁻), COS-A2-ESO (NY-ESO-1⁺), or one of various melanoma tumor cell lines 888mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), Sk23mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), A375mel (NY-ESO-1⁺), 1363mel (NY-ESO-1⁺), 1390 (NY-ESO-1⁺), or 624 (NY-ESO-1⁺). IFNγ secretion was measured. The results are shown in Table 6 (IFNγ (pg/ml)).

TABLE 6 T2 + ESO: COS- COS-A2- T2 + HBV 157 media 888 Sk23 1363 1390 A375 624 A2-CEA ESO HLA-A2 − − − − + + + + + + + NY-ESO-1 − + − − − + + + + − + Patient 1 GFP 326     180 8 198 134 220 325 632 32 94 74 Avidex TCR 235 >10,000 7 188 81 >10,000     1637  5752  531  52 2320  TRAV7D- 664 >10,000 7 185 102 2262  489 893 39 72 449  4/TRBV19¹ TRAV13D- 197 >10,000 8 152 88 134 159 338 26 75 55 2/TRBV14² TRAV7D- 155     366 7 129 112 122 171 378 28 68 71 3/TRBV14³ TRAV6D/TRBV26⁴ 198 >10,000 11 255 156 >10,000     3859  9973  782  91 3872  TRAV7D- 190     1269 0 208 107 246 189 509 34 79 104  3/TRBV26⁵ Patient 2 GFP 26      30 2 47 27  22  62  98  8 16 19 Avidex TCR 50 >10,000 4 32 22 2484  208 192 150  11 588  TRAV7D- 183 >10,000 2 34 15 149  47  39  7 13 90 4/TRBV19¹ TRAV13D- 22     7898 9 27 13  20  42  58 11 22 17 2/TRBV14² TRAV7D- 24      23 11 28 13  21  30  39  5 7 13 3/TRBV14³ TRAV6D/TRBV26⁴ 63 >10,000 39 77 40 3597  777 344 133  32 683  TRAV7D- 10      77 0 28 17  27  33  51  5 16 40 3/TRBV26⁵ ¹TRAV7D-4/TRBV19: Clone ESO (1 stim LPS) B (Table 2 above) ²TRAV13D-2/TRBV14: Clone ESO (1 stim LPS) H (Table 2 above) ³TRAV7D-3/TRBV14: Clone ESO (3 stim LPS) 5 (Table 5 above) ⁴TRAV6D/TRBV26: Clones ESO (3 stim LPS) 6; ESO (3 stim T2) 1; ESO (3 stim T2) 63 (Table 5 above) ⁵TRAV7D-3/TRBV26: Clone ESO (3 stim T2) 50 (Table 5 above)

As shown in Table 6, the TRAV6D/TRBV26 (SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12) TCR provided the highest specific anti-NY-ESO-1 reactivity and was chosen for further study.

The nucleotide sequence (RNA) encoding the TRAV6D/TRBV26 (SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12) TCR was transfected into human PBMC from Patients 3 and 4. The transfected cells were positively selected for CD8+ and CD4+ cells, stimulated with OKT3 and IL-2, and cultured alone (media) or co-cultured with T2 cells pulsed with control (HBV) peptide, T2 cells pulsed with various concentrations of NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide, COS-A2-ESO (NY-ESO-1⁺), COA-A2-CEA (NY-ESO-1⁻), or one of various melanoma tumor cell lines 888mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), Sk23mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), A375mel (NY-ESO-1⁺), 1363mel (NY-ESO-1⁺), or 624 (NY-ESO-1⁺). IFNγ secretion was measured and the results are shown in Table 7 (IFNγ (pg/ml)).

TABLE 7 T2 + ESO: 157-165 T2 + HBV 10⁻¹² 10⁻¹¹ 10⁻¹⁰ 10⁻⁶ g/ml g/ml g/ml g/ml 10⁻⁹ g/ml 10⁻⁸ g/ml 10⁻⁷ g/ml 10⁻⁶ g/ml media Patient 3 CD8+ TRAV6D/ 243 238 1075   4257 6170  8996 5087 6142 122 TRBV26 GFP 86 47 27   29   9   17  18  25 12 CD4+ TRAV6D/ 127 67 69  1836 12835  19161 12495  14641  173 TRBV26 Avidex 6 0 1  40 1147  2455 3538 5783 17 GFP 10 0 0   0   0   0   0   0 10 Patient 4 CD8+ TRAV6D/ 15 55 931  1713 2670  3721 2988 2878 0 TRBV26 GFP 42 0 0   0   0   0   5   0 0 CD4+ TRAV6D/ 38 1 58  5774 18051 19691 >20000    >20000    21 TRBV26 Avidex 25 0 0  200 2923 15574 >20000    18293  8 GFP 12 0 0   0   0   0  10  30 0 COS-A2 COS-A2 888 Sk23 A375 624 1363 CEA ESO A2− A2+ A2+ A2+ A2+ A2+ A2+ ESO− ESO− ESO+ ESO+ ESO+ ESO− ESO+ Patient 3 CD8+ TRAV6D/ 90 70 419  125 1194  56 1041  TRBV26 GFP 19 5 18 1 27 11 20 CD4+ TRAV6D/ 56 43 250  84 361  30 179  TRBV26 Avidex 0 0 25 9 26 10 14 GFP 5 0 43 18 47 4  7 Patient 4 CD8+ TRAV6D/ 0 0 48 15 262  0 380  TRBV26 GFP 0 6  5 0  0 2  0 CD4+ TRAV6D/ 7 0 109  36 476  2 241  TRBV26 Avidex 0 0 37 0 60 0 23 GFP 0 0 28 14 42 0  0

As shown in Table 7, the cells transfected with the TRAV6D/TRBV26 (SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12) TCR specifically recognized NY-ESO-1+ melanoma tumor cells, as measured by IFNγ secretion.

Example 4

This example demonstrates the reactivity of human CD8+ and CD4+ T cells transfected with a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR upon co-culture with dendritic cells pulsed with NY-ESO-1 peptide.

CD8+ (FIG. 1A) or CD4+ (FIG. 1B) human T cells were transfected with a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (TRAV6D/TRBV26 (SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12)) or a human anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR. The transfected cells were co-cultured with dendritic cells pulsed with various concentrations of NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide, and IFNγ secretion was measured.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, CD8+ and CD4+ human T cells transfected with a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (TRAV6D/TRBV26 (SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12)) were reactive against dendritic cells pulsed with NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide, as measured by IFNγ secretion. CD8+ human T cells transfected with a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (TRAV6D/TRBV26 (SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12)) were more reactive against dendritic cells pulsed with NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide, as measured by IFNγ secretion, as compared to CD8+ cells transfected with a human anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR.

Example 5

This example demonstrates the reactivity of human CD8+ and CD4+ T cells transfected with a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR upon co-culture with melanoma tumor cells.

CD8+ (FIG. 2A) or CD4+ (FIG. 2B) human T cells were transfected with a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (TRAV6D/TRBV26 (SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12)) or a human anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR. The transfected cells were cultured alone (media) or co-cultured with T2 cells pulsed with control peptide, T2 cells pulsed with NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide, COA-A2-CEA (NY-ESO-1⁻), COS-A2-ESO (NY-ESO-1⁺), or one of various melanoma tumor cell lines 888mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), Sk23mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), A375mel (NY-ESO-1⁺), or 1363mel (NY-ESO-1⁺). IFNγ secretion was measured.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, CD8+ and CD4+ human T cells transfected with a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (TRAV6D/TRBV26 (SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12)) specifically recognized NY-ESO-1+ melanoma tumor cells, as measured by IFNγ secretion. CD8+ and CD4+ human T cells transfected with a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (TRAV6D/TRBV26 (SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12)) were more reactive against NY-ESO-1+ tumor cell lines, as measured by IFNγ secretion, as compared to CD8+ and CD4+ cells transfected with a human anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR.

Example 6

This example demonstrates the reactivity of human CD8+ and CD4+ T cells transfected with a wild-type or codon-optimized nucleotide sequence encoding a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR upon co-culture with melanoma tumor cells.

A wild-type (SEQ ID NOs: 19 and 20) or codon-optimized (SEQ ID NOs: 15 and 16) nucleotide sequence (RNA) encoding the murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (TRAV6D/TRBV26) was transfected into CD8+ or CD4+ human PBMC from Patients 5 and 6. The transfected cells were positively selected for CD8+ and CD4+ cells, stimulated with OKT3 and IL-2, and cultured alone (media) or co-cultured with T2 cells pulsed with control (HBVc) peptide, T2 cells pulsed with various concentrations of NY-ESO-₁₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide, COA-A2-CEA (NY-ESO-1⁻), COS-A2-ESO (NY-ESO-1⁺), or one of various melanoma tumor cell lines 888mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), Sk23mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), A375mel (NY-ESO-1⁺), 1363mel (NY-ESO-1⁺), A375 (NY-ESO-1⁺), or 624mel (NY-ESO-1⁺). IFNγ secretion was measured. The results are shown in Table 8 (IFNγ (pg/ml)).

TABLE 8 Patient 5 CD4 Patient 5 CD8 Patient 6 CD4 Patient 6 CD8 Codon wild Codon wild Codon wild Codon wild optimized type GFP optimized type GFP optimized type GFP optimized type GFP media media 103  62 6 43  60 1  0  0 0   0   0 0 3 T2 + HBVc 58 37 4 71 108 82  2 17 7   3  12 9 8 T2 + 10⁻¹² M 44 32 0 67  86 46 13 15 6   6   9 14 0 ESO T2 + 10⁻¹¹ M 83 42 0 52 150 30 15 22 7  20  23 2 0 ESO T2 + 10⁻¹⁰ M 69 27 3 221  175 43 13 18 4  193  176 0 0 ESO T2 + 10⁻⁹ M 232  60 0 3149  2465  20 728  555  6 1979 3066 4 0 ESO T2 + 10⁻⁸ M 5158  2979  0 13308   13394  56 15468   12906   7 5382 11217  0 0 ESO T2 + 10⁻⁷ M 13987   9362  1 >20000     >20000    37 23981   21321   8 8914 13127  0 0 ESO T2 + 10⁻⁶ M 15345   9417  0 >20000     >20000    51 26802   25225   8 14734  19766  2 0 ESO 888mel 54 30 8 55  98 37 22  9 8  36  58 37 17 (A2− ESO−) Sk23mel 30 34 7  8  26 29  3  0 3   8  29 11 0 (A2+ ESO−) A375 239  204  75 525  925 55 114  146  82  190  480 22 0 (A2+ ESO+) 624mel 102  81 57 176  211 24 44 42 6  89  125 0 0 (A2+ ESO+) 1363mel 605  443  176 964  1421  28 525  576  153  426 1079 20 nt (A2+ ESO+) COS-A2-CEA 68 66 22 51  83 39  8 17 16   4  13 9 4 COS-A2-ESO 429  92 2 1322  1436  22 1213  431  17  872 1372 10 0

As shown in Table 8, CD8+ and CD4+ human T cells transfected with a wild-type or codon-optimized nucleotide sequence encoding a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (TRAV6D/TRBV26) specifically recognized NY-ESO-1+ melanoma tumor cells, as measured by IFNγ secretion.

Example 7

This example demonstrates the reactivity of human CD8+ T cells transfected with a wild-type nucleotide sequence encoding a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR upon co-culture with melanoma and non-melanoma tumor cells.

A nucleotide sequence (RNA) (SEQ ID NO: 19 and 20) encoding the murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (TRAV6D/TRBV26) was electroporated into CD8+ human T cells from Patients 7 and 8. Untransfected cells (mock) or transfected cells were positively selected for CD8+ T cells, stimulated with OKT3 and IL-2, and cultured alone (media) or co-cultured with T2 cells pulsed with control (HBVc) peptide; T2 cells pulsed with various concentrations of NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide; COA-A2-CEA (NY-ESO-1⁻); COS-A2-ESO (NY-ESO-1⁺); one of various melanoma tumor cell lines 888mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), Sk23mel (NY-ESO-1⁻), A375mel (NY-ESO-1⁺), 1363mel (NY-ESO-1⁺), A375 (NY-ESO-1⁺); osteogenic sarcoma cell line Saos2 (NY-ESO-1⁺); glioma cell line LN-18 (NY-ESO-1⁺); Ewing's sarcoma cell line TC-71 (NY-ESO-1⁺); neuroblastoma cell lines SKN AS (NY-ESO-1⁺) or SKN AS-A2 (NY-ESO-1⁺); or breast cancer cell lines MDA 453S (NY-ESO-1⁺) or MDA 453S-A2 (NY-ESO-1⁺). IFNγ secretion was measured. The results are shown in Table 9 (IFNγ (pg/ml)).

TABLE 9 Patient 7 CD8 Patient 8 CD8 ESO a/b mock ESO a/b mock media media  21 0  0 6 0 T2 + HBVc  64 60  88 50 0 T2 + 10 − 12 M ESO  50 58 107 59 0 T2 + 10 − 11 M ESO  66 51 209 71 0 T2 + 10 − 10 M ESO 332 66 1704  50 0 T2 + 10 − 9 M ESO 3142  51 10886  55 0 T2 + 10 − 8 M ESO 6505  52 >20000    58 0 T2 + 10 − 7 M ESO 6764  42 >20000    51 0 T2 + 10 − 6 M ESO 6550  55 >20000    58 0 888mel (A2− ESO−) melanoma  59 45 142 133 0 Sk23mel (A2+ ESO−) melanoma  79 54  31 59 0 A375mel (A2+ ESO+) melanoma 2986  240 1984  93 0 1363mel (A2+ ESO+) melanoma 1889  119 9858  137 0 Saos2 (A2+ ESO+) osteogenic 248 34 1253  28 0 sarcoma LN-18 (A2+ ESO+) glioma 123 21 224 34 0 TC-71 (A2+ ESO+) Ewing's sarcoma 159 116 183 127 3 SKN AS (A2− ESO+) neuroblastoma 542 328 199 207 2 SKN AS - A2 (A2+ ESO+) neuroblastoma 148 38 1004  39 0 MDA 453S (A2− ESO+) breast cancer 448 311 177 230 0 MDA 453S -A2 (A2+ breast cancer 111 50 610 39 0 ESO+) COS-A2−CEA (A2+ ESO−)  45 51  50 63 7 COS-A2−ESO (A2+ ESO+) 588 34 4109  63 0

As shown in Table 9, CD8+ human T cells transfected with a nucleotide sequence encoding a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (TRAV6D/TRBV26) specifically recognized NY-ESO-1+ melanoma, osteogenic sarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, neuroblastoma, and breast cancer tumor cells, as measured by IFNγ secretion.

Example 8

This example demonstrates the preparation of recombinant expression vectors encoding a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR.

A retroviral vector comprising DNA encoding wild-type human anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (1G4), 1G4 TCR having a double substitution within the CDR3α chain in which leucine and tyrosine are substituted for threonine at position 95 (1G4-LY) (Robbins et al., J. Clin. Oncol., 29: 917-924 (2011); Robbins et al., J. Immunol., 180: 6116-6131 (2008)), or murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR (TRAV6D/TRBV26) (SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12) were cloned into a MSGVI retroviral backbone and transformed into TOP10 cells. A picornavirus 2A peptide (SEQ ID NO: 13) linked the alpha and beta chains. Two vectors encoding the murine TRAV6D/TRBV26 TCR were made: one contained the nucleotide sequence encoding the alpha chain located 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the beta chain (mESOαβ) (SEQ ID NO: 17), and one contained the nucleotide sequence encoding the beta chain located 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the alpha chain (mESOβ ) (SEQ ID NO: 18). The presence of the inserts encoding the alpha and beta chains of the TCR was confirmed by digestion with Nco I and Not I restriction enzymes. DNA was generated from one clone for each of the human and murine TCRs by maxiprep.

DNA from the 1G4 TCR and 1G4-LY vectors was transfected into 293GP cells to collect supernatant and transduce PBL in subsequent transduction experiments. A vector encoding GFP was used as a control.

Example 9

This example demonstrates the transduction efficiency of a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were stimulated with OKT3 on Day 0 (S1). The PBL were transduced with the 1G4, 1G4-LY, mESOαβ, or mESOβα TCR vector of Example 8 on Days 3 and 4. On Days 7-11, transduction efficiency was evaluated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). An antibody recognizing the variable region of the murine TCR (VB13.1) and an antibody recognizing the constant region of the murine TCR (mB) were used for the FACS. The FACS was performed 7 to 11 days after first stimulation (S1D7-S1D11). The results are summarized in Table 10 below.

TABLE 10 % VB13.1, mB+ cells pre-rapid expansion (REP) (for 5 donors) (S1D7-S1D11) Untransduced (UT) 0-6 Green fluorescent protein (GFP)   67-90.5 1G4 TCR 62-85 1G4-LY TCR 37-85 mESOαβ TCR 56-90 mESOβα TCR 56-91

As shown in Table 10, PBL transduced with the mESOαβ or mESOβα TCR vector were transduced with similar efficiency as compared to the vectors encoding the 1G4 and 1G4-LY TCRs.

Example 10

This example demonstrates the reactivity of cells transduced with a vector encoding a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR.

PBL from five donors were stimulated and either untransduced or transduced with vectors encoding GFP or the 1G4-LY, mESOαβ, or mESOβα TCR as described in Example 9. Transduced PBL were co-cultured with one of the various tumor cell lines listed in Table 11A or 11B below or with T2 cells pulsed with SSX peptide, no peptide (T2), or one of the various concentrations of NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide listed in Table 12 below. IFNγ secretion was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of 24 hour supernatant from co-cultures. ELISA was performed 6, 7, or 10 days following first stimulation (S1D6, S1D7, and S1D10). The results are shown in Tables 11A, 11B, and 12 (IFNγ pg/ml). Transduction (Td) efficiency was based on FACS analysis of Vβ13.1+mβ+cells.

TABLE 11A % td COS-A2- COAS-A2- efficiency 888 938 gp100 624.38 H1299-A2 A375 ESO 1300 Patient 1 (Dilution 1:10; S1D7) Untransduced N/A 12  0 99  22  17 132  24  61 (UT) GFP 90  0  0 91  17  65  95  0  33 1G4-LY TCR 85 13  0 99 3316  8592 3059  1391  5732  mESOαβ TCR 83 239  284  156  5523  9616 4430  1872  6922  mESOβα TCR 83 329  326  42 6721  9898 4178  2270  7798  Patient 2 (Dilution 1:5; S1D7) Untransduced N/A 44 43 46  44  42  53  46  42 (UT) GFP 67 42 42 43  44  40  50  41  41 1G4-LY TCR 63 53 43 44 346 1446 451 132 352 mESOαβ TCR 56 43 44 45 372 1259 415 108 323 mESOβα TCR 56 43 46 45 327 1236 412 136 625 Patient 3 (Dilution 1:5; S1D10) Untransduced N/A  0  0  0  0   0  48  39 — (UT) GFP 63  0  0  0  0   0  0  0 — 1G4-LY TCR 76  0 305   0 546  770 1020  332 — mESOαβ TCR 63  0  0  0 111  38 292  13 — mESOβα TCR 60  0  0  0 413  540 819 283 —

TABLE 11B % Td COS-A2 COS-A2- efficiency Media 888 938 gp100 624.38 H1299-A2 A375 ESO Patient 4 (Dilution 1:5; S1D6) Untransduced NA 52 155 35 294 195  122 476 212 (UT) GFP 91% 34 91 22 78 106  62 306  50 1G4-LY TCR 75% 86 113 54 313 2172  7187 1671  2394  mESOαβ TCR 84% 41 131 98 185 1946  5744 1064  1490  mESOβα TCR 85% 52 130 110 164 2812  7163 1262  1676  Patient 5 (Dilution 1:5; S1D6) Untransduced NA 42 23 12 88  9   8 107  64 (UT) GFP 87% 15 20 15 76  0  11  98  62 1G4-LY TCR 25% 63 16 10 20 1172  3156 918 430 mESOαβ TCR 74% 19 55 22 57 444  917 233 372 mESOβα TCR 74% 15 32 20 24 810 2417 603 380

TABLE 12 % td efficiency SSX T2 1 μg/ml 100 ng/ml 10 ng/ml 1 ng/ml 0.1 ng/ml Patient 1 (Dilution 1:5; S1D7) Untransduced (UT) NA 0 0   0   0   0  0  0 GFP 90 0 0   0   0   0  0  0 1G4 TCR 85 0 0 2452 2475 1525 851 99 1G4-LY TCR 85 0 0 2173 1599 1087 677  0 mESOαβ TCR 83 0 0 2825 2210 1904 1060  278  mESOβα TCR 83 0 0 3018 2403 2020 1212  522  Patient 2 (Dilution 1:5; S1D7) Untransduced (UT) NA 22 20  52  24  21  33 53 GFP 67 17 38  33  39  31  21 20 1G4 TCR 62 19 15 1,963  1,104   860 397 41 1G4-LY TCR 63 15 19 2441 1280  879 291 40 mESOαβ TCR 56 20 42 4645 1854 1529 535 92 mESOβα TCR 56 38 27 7091 2302 1336 348 262 

Cells transduced with the mESOαβ or the mESOβα TCR vectors specifically recognized NY-ESO-1⁺/HLA-A*0201⁺ target tumor cell lines but not HLA-A*0201⁻NY-ESO-1⁺ or HLA-A*0201⁺/NY-ESO-1⁻ cell lines as measured by IFNγ secretion (Tables 11A and 11B). Cells transduced with the mESOαβ or the mESOβα TCR vectors specifically recognized T2 cells pulsed with NY-ESO-1 peptide as measured by IFNγ secretion (Table 12). The NY-ESO-1 specific recognition was consistent among cells from five different donors. Functionality of the cells transduced with the murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR was comparable to that of cells transduced with human anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR. Functionality of the cells transduced with the mESβα TCR vector was slightly higher as compared to that of the cells transduced with the mESαβ TCR vector. PBL transduced with either mESOαβ or the mESOβα TCR vectors recognized T2 cells pulsed with as little as 1 ng/mL, indicating that both mTCRs are relatively high avidity receptors. Co-culture of PBL expressing mESOαβ or the mESOβα TCR vectors with control T2 cells that were not pulsed with any peptide produced background levels of IFN-γ. The cells of Patient 1 transduced with mESOβα TCR had higher levels of IFN-γ secretion when compared to the cells transduced with mESOαβ TCR for the same level of peptide. The cells of Patient 2 transduced with mESOβα TCR had higher levels of IFN-γ secretion when compared to the cells transduced with mESOαβ TCR for the same level of peptide for peptide concentrations 1 μg/ml, 100 ng/ml, and 0.1 ng/ml.

Example 11

This example demonstrates that cells transduced with a vector encoding a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR maintain expression of the murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR following expansion of the numbers of cells.

PBL from two donors were stimulated and either untransduced or transduced with vectors encoding GFP or the 1G4, 1G4-LY, mESOαβ, or mESOβα TCR as described in Example 9. The numbers of PBL were expanded as described in Riddell et al., Science, 257:238-241 (1992) and Dudley et al., Cancer J. Sci. Am., 6:69-77 (2000). Generally, the numbers of PBL were expanded up to 3 logs using soluble OKT3, irradiated feeder cells, and high-dose IL-2. Expression of murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR by expanded numbers (expanded once) of cells was measured by FACS twice (on Days 10 and 20). The results are summarized in Table 13 (% VB 13.1, mB+ cells following expansion).

TABLE 13 Donor 1 2 D10 D20 D10 D20 UT 0 <1 0 <1 GFP 88 87 42 70 1G4 TCR 59 80 50 59 1G4-LY TCR 76 88 37 60 mESOαβ TCR 82 76 62 46 mESOβα TCR 82 74 62 50

As shown in Table 13, PBL transduced with the mESOαβ or mESOβα TCR vector maintained expression of the murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR following expansion of the numbers of cells.

Example 12

This example demonstrates that cells transduced with a vector encoding a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR maintain functionality following expansion of the numbers of transduced cells.

PBL from two donors were stimulated and either untransduced or transduced with vectors encoding GFP or the 1G4-LY, mESOαβ, or mESOβα TCR as described in Example 9. The numbers of transduced cells were expanded as described in Example 11. Transduced expanded PBL were cultured alone (media) or co-cultured with one of the various tumor cell lines listed in Table 14 below or with T2 cells pulsed with SSX peptide, no peptide (T2), or one of the various concentrations of NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ peptide listed in Table 15 below. IFNγ secretion was measured by ELISA nine days after the second stimulation (S2D9). The results are shown in Tables 14 and 15 (IFNγ pg/ml; Dilution 1:10).

TABLE 14 % td COS-A2- H1299- COAS- efficiency Media 888 938 gp100 624.38 A2 A375 A2-ESO 1300 Patient 1 Untransduced N/A 282 181 91 515  78  128  779 —  91 (UT) GFP 88 95 87 44 216  44   48  783 —  53 1G4-LY TCR 76 208 184 105 260 8233 12848 6454 — 2786 mESOαβ TCR 82 129 183 111 121 8132 11976 6152 — 3035 mESOβα TCR 82 92 194 130 148 9104 11381 6226 — 2654 Patient 2 (UT) N/A 297 276 195 231  151  144  353 —  167 GFP37 42 393 380 205 272  146  186  465 —  168 1G4-LY TCR 37 102 174 53 133 4571  5984 2420 — 2066 mESOαβ TCR 62 125 397 362 170 7382  9590 4681 — 3439 mESOβα TCR 62 137 323 370 130 6345  8250 4236 — 3054

TABLE 15 % td efficiency SSX T2 1 μg/ml 100 ng/ml 10 ng/ml 1 ng/ml 0.1 ng/ml Patient 1 Untransduced (UT) NA 365 479  123  113  168  168  231 GFP 88 0 30   0   0   0   0   0 1G4 TCR 59 179 275 26446 19424 13530 6988 1277 1G4-LY TCR 76 185 217 30639 21553 16246 7261 1328 mESOαβ TCR 82 511 516 26427 22062 16950 8601 1873 mESOβα TCR 82 399 384 27813 23052 16872 8076 2174 Patient 2 Untransduced (UT) NA 976 1281  886  616  680  782  764 GFP 42 660 912  505  697  726  591  763 1G4 TCR 50 279 364 19505 12698  7350 3553  747 1G4-LY TCR 37 150 110 19416 10632  6799 2495  662 mESOαβ TCR 62 386 460 19960 13887  9970 4488 1025 mESOβα TCR 62 379 611 16434 12708  9646 5266 1177

Functionality of expanded transduced cells was also evalulated by chromium release assay. Expanded transduced cells (effector cells) were co-cultured with target melanoma cells 624.38 cells (Table 16A) or A375 cells (Table 16B) at various effector:target (E:T) cell ratios, and the percentage of target cells lysed was measured. The results are shown in Tables 16A and 16B (percentage of target cells lysed).

TABLE 16A 1G4-LY mESOα/β mESOβ/α E:T Ratio TCR TCR TCR GFP 40:1 71.0 69.0 68 20.0 13:1 59.0 64.0 62 13.0  4:1 54.0 73.0 46 23.0 1.5:1  42.0 40.0 39 2.0

TABLE 16B E:T Ratio IG4-LY TCR mESO α/β mESO β/α GFP 40:1 43.0 49.0 51 21.0 13:1 43.0 47.0 50 16.0  4:1 36.0 28.0 32 8.0 1.5:1  29.0 31.0 32 6.0

As shown in Tables 14, 15, 16A, and 16B, cells transduced with a vector encoding a murine anti-NY-ESO-1 TCR maintained functionality following expansion of the numbers of transduced cells.

Example 13

This example demonstrates a method of producing packaging cell clones for the production of mESOβα TCR for potential clinical application.

DNA for the mESOβα TCR vector was used to produce retroviral vector packaging cell clones under conditions required for potential clinical application. Supernatant from six PG13 producer cell clones was used to transduce PBL. FACS analysis of transduced PBL using the anti-mouse TCR-β chain antibody revealed that each clone produced virus that mediated positive TCR transduction (Table 17). To assess the specific recognition of tumor cells, the mTCR engineered PBL from each PG13 producer cell clone were co-cultured with a panel of HLA-A*0201⁺ and HLA-A*0201⁻ melanoma and lung tumor derived cell lines (Table 17). IFN-gamma was measured by ELISA. A comparison of the six mTCR PG13 producer clones showed that T cells transduced with Clone C1 released high levels of IFN-γ in response to HLA-A*0201⁺/NY-ESO-1⁺ tumor cell target H1299-A2 and demonstrated the highest transduction efficiency (Table 17). These responses were specific as background levels of IFN-γ were released in response to NY-ESO-1⁺/HLA-A*0201⁻ cell lines and NY-ESO-1⁻/HLA-A*0201⁺ cell lines by each clone (FIG. 2). Based on this analysis, Clone C1 was selected for the production of a master cell bank for subsequent production of good manufacturing practice (GMP) retroviral supernatant.

TABLE 17 IFN-γ pg/ml Clone % mTCRβ media 888 H1299A2 624.38 A375 UT 4 122 1 0 0 146 B2 30 39 46 2923 670 382 C1 63 0 0 7529 942 257 C12 42 10 0 3332 661 351 D8 36 64 90 5773 675 439 F2 47 31 38 5533 579 488 H4 44 34 38 7185 531 459

Example 14

This example demonstrates the transduction efficiency of cells transduced with a mESOβα TCR using a retroviral supernatant from the packaging cell clone of Example 13.

To compare the respective NY-ESO-1 TCRs (murine, or mTCR, versus human, or hTCR (1G4-LY TCR)), FACS analysis of PBL transduced with retroviral supernatant from packaging cell clones using the anti-mouse TCR-Vβ chain and the anti-Vβ13.1 antibodies was performed after one stimulation with OKT3 and following a second large-scale expansion using the rapid expansion protocol (REP) (Table 18). Results demonstrated that both the mTCR and the hTCR had equivalent percentages of transduction after stimulation, with the mTCR having equal to or greater levels of transduction after REP (Table 18).

TABLE 18 % TCR Donor H Donor E After one After After stimulation expanding After one expanding with numbers of stimulation numbers of OKT3 cells twice with OKT3 cells twice UT 4 13 4 8 1G4-LY TCR 52 56 48 44 mESOβα TCR 56 61 46 66

Example 15

This example demonstrates the reactivity of cells transduced with a mESOβα TCR using a retroviral supernatant from the packaging cell clone of Example 13.

The recognition of each TCR was evaluated by subjecting the mTCR and the hTCR transduced T cells to co-culture with NY-ESO-1 peptide-pulsed T2 cells. Both the mTCR and the hTCR specifically secreted IFN-γ upon encounter with the antigenic peptide in a dose-dependent manner after one stimulation with OKT3 and after REP (Table 19). After one stimulation, both the mTCR and the hTCR recognized T2 cells pulsed with as little as 0.1 ng/mL indicating that both mTCRs are relatively high avidity receptors. Following the expansion of the numbers of cells, the mTCR released higher levels of IFN-γ compared to the hTCR vector transduced T cells at each concentration of peptide (Table 19). Co-culture of PBL expressing NY-ESO-1 mTCR or NY-ESO-1 hTCR with control T2 cells that were not pulsed with any peptide produced background levels of IFN-γ.

TABLE 19 T2 peptide cells without concentration peptide 0.1 ng/μl 1 ng/μl 10 ng/μl 100 ng/μl IFN-γ pg/ml Donor H (after stimulation with OKT3) UT 400 380 329 350 285 GFP 633 455 424 410 412 1G4-LY TCR 1259 1400 1710 3016 3775 mESOβα TCR 1070 1316 1660 3091 3744 IFN-γ pg/ml Donor H (after expanding numbers of cells) UT 34 47 57 22 28 GFP 34 47 57 22 28 1G4-LY TCR 24 89 512 2974 4341 mESOβα TCR 174 229 1456 6633 10683

To assess the specific recognition of tumor cells, the mTCR engineered PBL were co-cultured with a panel of HLA-A*0201⁺ and HLA-A*0201⁻ melanoma and lung tumor derived cell lines. Specific release of IFN-γ was observed when both the mTCR engineered PBL and the hTCR were co-cultured with HLA-A*0201⁺/NY-ESO-1⁺ cell lines but not HLA-A*0201⁻/NY-ESO-1⁺ or HLA-A*0201⁺/NY-ESO-1⁻ cell lines (Table 20 (representative experiments shown)).

TABLE 20 H1299-A2 624.38 1300 938 Patient H Untransduced (UT) 86 93 118 0 GFP 83 81 91 0 1G4-LY TCR 14549 6171 1507 0 mESOβα TCR 8877 4248 1326 0 Patient E Untransduced (UT) 64 72 81 0 GFP 70 72 63 0 1G4-LY TCR 7483 2149 452 0 mESOβα TCR 10646 3548 986 0

Example 16

This example demonstrates specific lysis of melanoma cells by cells transduced with a mESOβα TCR using a retroviral supernatant from the packaging cell clone of Example 13.

The specific lysis of melanoma cell lines by the mTCR and the hTCR were also compared. The ability of the transduced PBL to lyse HLA-A*0201⁺/NY-ESO-1⁺ tumor cells was measured using a CYTOTOX-GLO bioluminescence assay (Promega, Madison, Wis.). This assay utilizes a luminogenic peptide substrate, the AAF-GLO substrate, to measure dead-cell protease activity, which is released from cells that have lost membrane integrity, resulting in the generation of a “glow-type” luminescent signal that is proportional to the number of dead cells in the sample. The AAF-GLO substrate cannot cross the intact membrane of live cells and does not generate any appreciable signal from the live-cell population. In these assays, TCR engineered PBL were co-incubated with increasing ratios of target cells (E:T) in AIM-V medium in 96-well U-bottom plates at 37° C. for 4 hours (hr.) Lysis was measured by bioluminescence release in the medium: percent specific lysis=[specific release−(spontaneous effector release+spontaneous target release)]/total target release−spontaneous target release×100%, average of quadruplicate samples. Little or no cell lysis is measured as a negative value.

As shown in Table 21, both mTCR and hTCR transduced PBL demonstrated similar lytic activity against melanoma NY-ESO-1⁺/HLA-A*0201⁺ tumor cell line 624.38mel. There was little or no lysis of HLA-A*0201⁻ cell line 938 mel, and the GFP transduced PBL showed no reactivity against any of the target cells (Table 21).

TABLE 21 Effector:target ratio 10:1 30:1 60:1 Positive Target: 624.38 cells GFP −9 −3 −2 1G4-LY TCR 29 59 58 mESOβα TCR 31 59 60 Negative Target: 938 cells GFP −19 −22 −34 1G4-LY TCR −13 −11 −10 mESOβα TCR −13 −10 −10

Example 17

This example demonstrates the anti-tumor activity of cells transduced with a mESOβα TCR or human TCR using a retroviral supernatant from the packaging cell clone of Example 13.

The anti-tumor activity of CD4+ T lymphocytes transduced with the mTCR and the hTCR was also investigated. NY-ESO-1 hTCR and NY-ESO-1 mTCR transduced PBL were enriched with CD4+ magnetic beads, then co-cultured for 16 hours with a panel of HLA-A*0201⁺ and HLA-A*0201⁻ melanoma and lung tumor derived cell lines. CD4+ T lymphocytes transduced with both the mTCR and the hTCR had specific release of IFN-γ when co-cultured with HLA-A*0201⁺/NY-ESO-1⁺ cell lines but not HLA-A*0201⁻/NY-ESO-1⁺ cell lines (Table 22).

TABLE 22 H1299A2 624.38 938 IFN-γ pg/ml (Donor I) Untransduced 0 31 0 1G4-LY TCR 22684 7020 0 mESOβα TCR 21376 3754 41 IFN-γ pg/ml (Donor J) Untransduced 1158 0 0 1G4-LY TCR 22786 2594 0 mESOβα TCR 22331 481 14

Example 18

This example demonstrates the specific recognition of different tumor histologies by cells transduced with a mESOβα TCR using a retroviral supernatant from the packaging cell clone of Example 13.

To assess the specific recognition of various tumor histologies, NY-ESO-1 mTCR transduced PBL were co-cultured with different HLA-A*0201⁺/NY-ESO-1⁺ cell lines derived from melanoma (A375), non-small cell lung cancer (H1299-A2), neuroblastoma (SKN AS-A2), breast cancer (MDA-435S-A2), and osteosarcoma (Saos2). Specific release of IFN-γ was observed (Table 23).

TABLE 23 IFN-γ pg/ml Untransduced mESOβα TCR A375 0 5710 H1299-A2 132 21222 MDA-435S-A2 1181 3057 SKN AS-A2 1417 5097 Saos2 117 12092

Example 19

This example demonstrates the recognition of DAC-treated tumor cells by PBL transduced with a mESOβα TCR.

Increasing concentrations of the DNA-demethylating agent 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (decitabine; DAC) induces expression of various cancer testis antigens in lung cancer cells (Rao et al., Ther. Tar. and Chem. Bio., 71: 4192-4204 (2011)). Without being bound to a particular theory or mechanism, it is believed that DAC may, potentially, up-regulate NY-ESO-1 expression in cancer cells, which may enhance the ability of the TCRs to recognize NY-ESO-1.

NY-ESO-1 mTCR transduced or untransduced PBL were co-cultured for 16 hours with the tumor target cell lines of different histologies (shown in Tables 24A-24B) that had been exposed to DAC at the concentrations shown in Tables 24A-24B for 72 hours. Interferon-gamma levels were measured. The results are shown in Table 24A-24B.

TABLE 24A Prostate Cancer (pC3A2 cells) IFN-γ (pg/ml) mESOβα TCR from Clone DAC concentration (mM/L) Untransduced C1 Untreated 159 336 0.1 289 1566 0.5 188 1766 1.0 282 1912 10 361 1520

TABLE 24B Colorectal Cancer (SW480 cells) IFN-γ (pg/ml) mESOβα TCR from Clone DAC concentration (mM/L) Untransduced C1 Untreated 118 135 0.1 141 196 0.5 169 239 1.0 98 255 10 80 388

As shown in Tables 24A and 24B, the PBL transduced with mESOβα TCR demonstrated higher reactivity toward DAC-treated target prostate cancer and colorectal cancer, respectively, as compared to untreated target cells.

Example 20

This example demonstrates the recognition of T2 cells pulsed with alanine-substituted NY-ESO-1 peptides by PBL transduced with the mESON TCR or human TCR.

Untransduced human PBL or human PBL transduced with mTCR (mESOβα from clone C1), hTCR (1G4-LY TCR), or green fluorescent protein (GFP) were co-cultured for 16 hours with untreated T2 cells or T2 cells that were previously pulsed with different concentrations of peptide as shown in Tables 25A and 25B. Interferon gamma was measured. The results are shown in Table 25A and 25B. As shown in Tables 25A and 25B, the mTCR recognizes SEQ ID NO: 24 while the hTCR does not. In addition, the hTCR recognizes SEQ ID NO: 27 but the mTCR does not.

TABLE 25A (Donor K) IFN-γ (pg/ml) pulsed peptide (ng/μL) Untransduced GFP 1G4-LY TCR mESOβα untreated T2 — 943   358   641   443   Cells SLLMWITQC 10  0 0 3759    5741    (SEQ ID NO: 2) SLLMWITQC 1 0 0 678   2111    (SEQ ID NO: 2) MART 10  0 0 0 0 MART 1 0 0 0 0 SL A MWITQC 10  0 0 3271    6287    (SEQ ID NO: 23) SL A MWITQC 1 0 0 1785    2421    (SEQ ID NO: 23) SLL A WITQC 10  0 0 0 2701    (SEQ ID NO: 24) SLL A WITQC 1 0 0 0 3172    (SEQ ID NO: 24) SLLM A ITQC 10  0 0 0 0 (SEQ ID NO: 25) SLLM A ITQC 1 0 0 0 0 (SEQ ID NO: 25) SLLMW A TQC 10  0 0 1114    1194    (SEQ ID NO: 26) SLLMW A TQC 1 0 0 884   921   (SEQ ID NO: 26) SLLMWI A QC 10  0 0 5672    0 (SEQ ID NO: 27) SLLMWI A QC 1 0 0 457   0 (SEQ ID NO: 27) SLLMWIT A C 10  0 0 0 0 (SEQ ID NO: 28) SLLMWIT A C 1 0 0 0 0 (SEQ ID NO: 28)

TABLE 25B (Donor L) IFN-γ (pg/ml) pulsed peptide (ng/μL) Untransduced GFP 1G4-LY TCR mESOβα untreated T2 — 162 126 131 188 Cells SLLMWITQC 10  124 120 754 1168  (SEQ ID NO: 2) SLLMWITQC 1 199 112 184 273 (SEQ ID NO: 2) MART 10  230 136 123 102 MART 1 155 152 112 108 SL A MWITQC 10  145 168 1383  1541  (SEQ ID NO: 23) SL A MWITQC 1 120 139 370 505 (SEQ ID NO: 23) SLLAWITQC 10  128 121 185 616 (SEQ ID NO: 24) SLL A WITQC 1 123 111 225 1000  (SEQ ID NO: 24) SLLM A ITQC 10  183 163 294 137 (SEQ ID NO: 25) SLLM A ITQC 1 119 112 148 214 (SEQ ID NO: 25) SLLMW A TQC 10   96  80 297 375 (SEQ ID NO: 26) SLLMW A TQC 1  74  70 220 280 (SEQ ID NO: 26) SLLMWI A QC 10   78  95 1026   76 (SEQ ID NO: 27) SLLMWI A QC 1 123  72 208  86 (SEQ ID NO: 27) SLLMWIT A C 10 78   83  97  76 (SEQ ID NO: 28) SLLMWIT A C 1  85  75  82  74 (SEQ ID NO: 28)

All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. 

1. An isolated or purified T-cell receptor (TCR) having antigenic specificity for NY-ESO-1 (SEQ ID NO: 1) and comprising a murine variable region.
 2. The isolated or purified TCR according to claim 1, wherein the TCR has antigenic specificity for NY-ESO-1₁₅₇₋₁₆₅ (SEQ ID NO: 2).
 3. The isolated or purified TCR according to claim 1, comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 3-8.
 4. The isolated or purified TCR according to claim 1, comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 9 and
 10. 5. The isolated or purified TCR according to claim 1, comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 11 and
 12. 6. An isolated or purified polypeptide comprising a functional portion of the TCR of claim 1, wherein the functional portion comprises the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 3-8.
 7. An isolated or purified polypeptide comprising a functional portion of the TCR of claim 1, wherein the portion comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 or 10, or both SEQ ID NOs: 9 and
 10. 8. An isolated or purified polypeptide comprising a functional portion of the TCR of claim 1, wherein the portion comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11 or 12, or both SEQ ID NOs: 11 and
 12. 9. An isolated or purified protein comprising at least one of the polypeptides of claim
 6. 10. The isolated or purified protein according to claim 9, comprising a first polypeptide chain comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 3-5 and a second polypeptide chain comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 6-8.
 11. The isolated or purified protein according to claim 9, comprising a first polypeptide chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 and a second polypeptide chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 10. 12. The isolated or purified protein according to claim 9, comprising a first polypeptide chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11 and a second polypeptide chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 12. 13. The isolated or purified protein of claim 9, wherein the protein is a fusion protein.
 14. The isolated or purified protein of claim 9, wherein the protein is a recombinant antibody.
 15. An isolated or purified nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding the TCR according to claim
 1. 16. The isolated or purified nucleic acid according to claim 15, wherein the nucleotide sequence is codon-optimized.
 17. The isolated or purified nucleic acid according to claim 15, wherein the nucleotide sequence comprises SEQ ID NO: 15, SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 19, SEQ ID NO: 20, both SEQ ID NOs: 15 and 16, or both SEQ ID NOs: 19 and
 20. 18. A recombinant expression vector comprising the nucleic acid according to claim
 15. 19. The recombinant expression vector according to claim 18, wherein the nucleotide sequence comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding a complementarity determining region (CDR) 1α, CDR2α, CDR3α, CDR1β, CDR2β, and CDR3β, and the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1α, CDR2α, and CDR3α is 5′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1β, CDR2β, and CDR3β.
 20. The recombinant expression vector according to claim 18, wherein the nucleotide sequence comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding a CDR 1α, CDR2α, CDR3α, CDR1β, CDR2β, and CDR3β, and the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1α, CDR2α, and CDR3α is 3′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the CDR1β, CDR2β, and CDR3β.
 21. The recombinant expression vector according to claim 19, comprising SEQ ID NO:
 17. 22. The recombinant expression vector according to claim 20, comprising SEQ ID NO:
 18. 23. An isolated host cell comprising the recombinant expression vector of claim
 18. 24. The host cell according to claim 23, wherein the cell is human.
 25. A population of cells comprising at least one host cell of claim
 23. 26. An antibody, or antigen binding portion thereof, which specifically binds to a functional portion of the TCR according to claim 1, wherein the functional portion comprises the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 3-8.
 27. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the TCR according to claim 1, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
 28. A method of detecting the presence of cancer in a mammal, comprising: (a) contacting a sample comprising one or more cells from the mammal with the TCR according to claim 1, thereby forming a complex, and (b) detecting the complex, wherein detection of the complex is indicative of the presence of cancer in the mammal.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein the cancer is melanoma, breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, ovarian cancer, or synovial cell sarcoma.
 30. A method of treating or preventing cancer in a mammal, the method comprising administering to the mammal the TCR according to claim 1 in an amount effective to treat or prevent cancer in a mammal.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the cancer is melanoma, breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, ovarian cancer, or synovial cell sarcoma. 32-33. (canceled) 